Law&Crime Sidebar - P. Diddy Blasted by Predator Catcher Chris Hansen: ‘So Much Evidence’

Episode Date: June 15, 2024

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has gone from famous to infamous in most circles following an avalanche of civil lawsuits that claim rape, coercion, and trafficking, as well as a leaked video of the rapper hitting his then-girlfriend Cassie repeatedly in a hotel hallway. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber gets reaction from predator catcher and founder of TruBlu, Chris Hansen.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you experienced adverse side effects after taking Ozempic or another weight loss medication, check your eligibility to file a claim by visiting https://www.glp1case.com/sidebar/?v=osb12HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael DeiningerScript Writing & Producing - Savannah WilliamsonGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wonderly Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wonderly Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. views shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that

will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. There is no shortage of developments in the ongoing legal saga of Sean Diddy Combs. And as allegations of sexual abuse and sex trafficking emerge, we want to get perspective from none other than renowned predator catcher himself, Chris Hansen. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime, I'm Jesse Weber. Hey there, everybody.

This is another law and crime legal alert. Have you experienced severe gastroporesis or other side effects after taking OZMPIC or another GLP 1 weight loss medication? The OZMPIC lawsuits allege that the drug can lead to severe. testinal blockage and persistent vomiting and that manufacturers allegedly failed to provide adequate warnings about these risks. While true law, one of our legal sponsors, is helping those injured file a claim through an experienced attorney who can help ensure your claim is thoroughly presented. Visit gLP1 case.com slash sidebar to answer less than 10 questions and check your eligibility to file a claim. We have covered almost every aspect of the ongoing legal saga of Sean Diddy Combs from the multiple

Lawsuits filed against him alleging sexual abuse, sex slavery, sex trafficking, violence, illegal narcotics, weapons possession, to the raids on his properties by agents from Homeland Security, reportedly pursuant to an ongoing human trafficking investigation, to the release of a video from 2016 purportedly showing combs, savagely beating and dragging his ex-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura in a hotel hallway. Or how about the fact that it's being reported that witnesses, may soon be testifying in front of a federal grand jury in New York, not to mention all of the fallout for Sean Diddy Combs, whether it be Howard University rescinding his honorary degree, him essentially stepping down from Revolt TV, Hulu reportedly canceling production of a reality show of him. And by the way, airplay of his songs across the radio significantly down since all this came out.

And there's a lot more we can get into. But there is a lot to discuss with the Sean, Diddy Combs saga. And there's a lot to break down. And although we have spoken to a number of experts on this story, there's one person we have not spoken to yet. Someone who has a deep understanding of sex crimes and sex crimes allegations. Renowned predator catcher, Chris Hansen, host of Takedown with Chris Hansen on True Blue. Host of the podcast Predators I've caught with Chris Hansen and Chris Hansen joins me right now. Good to see you, sir. How are you? We brightened up the studio since the last time we were here.

Yeah, we're trying to make this as perfect as possible for you. I can't believe we haven't talked about this. Well, I know. It's such a compelling issue. And you've got to remember that the Southern District of New York, right, which is looking into this, is the same office that looked into Peter Nygaard, another huge pedditor we've investigated. Homeland Security was also involved in R. Kelly. I mean, there's so much evidence here. It seems very unlikely that Ditty is going to escape this one.

They've got a lot. And, you know, we saw the video. Well, the statute of limitations is wrong up. But that impacts the aggressiveness of federal agents. There was something about that video that changed everything. And I think Cassandra Ventura said it. She goes, I wish it didn't take that video for people to believe my story. It was violent.

It was upsetting, predatory. It was just violative in every single way. I mean, to keep on beating viciously this defenseless woman in a hotel and how he got away with it then. That's the question. I mean, obviously, this stuff has been going on for a decade or more. And you can say all you want about the environment of hip-hop and rap and record producers and people who are around them know what they sign up for. These are crimes, violent predatory crimes.

And I wonder how it is he got away with it for so long. Intimidation, keeping people quiet and buying them off, I'm sure had a part to it. Well, in her complaint, there was the allegation that he bought the tape. And what was interesting about it was her accounting of what happened her in that hallway is almost identical to the video. So it does give credence to what her allegations were. And why would you not believe her? Right.

I mean, yes, she reached a settlement in civil court, and you can't blame her. for that. But that doesn't hold him immune from criminal prosecution, as you know, being a lawyer yourself. It's not going to protect him. And so right now, I'm based upon everything I'm hearing from federal sources, and I spoke with, you know, people close to the Homeland Security Department just minutes before I sat down with you, you know, there is a very aggressive investigation. They're in no rush because they know where he is. They're going to do this right, and they're going to keep chipping away at it and have a good. grand jury and have witnesses in front of the grand jury and I can virtually predict

without fear of contradiction there will be indictments in this case they they didn't give you a timeline of what that would happen no and and that's difficult to get and you know grand juries are their own beasts with prosecutors bringing witnesses and evidence in front of them but he's in trouble and there's all this talk about you know was he a cooperating witness for the FBI or some other shug knight said it yeah and so you had to consider the source although you know shug knight would know theoretically right and maybe that could explain why he stayed out of trouble for so long but even if he was and i can't confirm that he was or you know say that he wasn't um that's not going to keep him out of trouble in this case for sure so i mean that's the

question a lot of people wondering why is it taking so long why was any arrested they had to collect everything from the House, they speak to witnesses. Do you think it's the main accusers in these lawsuits that are going to be the star witnesses of what could be a potential federal case, a federal sex trafficking case against a potential case against Sean Did he and by the way, he hasn't been charged, he hasn't been arrested, he hasn't been found liable? I totally think that and here's why. If you look at these past cases, the civil lawsuits often come before the criminal investigations and the criminal charges. So it would be a derelict of responsibility for Homeland Security to not pay attention to this evidence that comes out there from these civil cases.

It would be wrong if they didn't take a look at it. I mean, the evidence is strong, it's compelling, the crimes are offensive, violent, and as I said, predatory. So they have to take a look at it. And I was told earlier on that they kept this so close to the vest, Homeland Security, when they raided. Did he's residences. There were agents on that raid who didn't know whose home they were raiding. That's how tightly held this was. So this has been going on a while, and they've kept it under wraps. So many things I want to ask you about that. First of all, would you agree that the way they conducted those raids was not abnormal? I mean, given the subject matter and the circumstances. No, not given the fact that you've got somebody who's talked about weapons, who's, you know, by many accounts, has weapons around, who's had violent behavior.

You don't know who's in there. You don't know what you're going to walk into. So they went in heavy. And I don't see anything wrong with the way they conducted those raids. I just don't. And by the way, going back to that video from 2016, you know, I've talked to experts about that. He might not be charged with assault in California. But that could be part of the case that they're building.

Absolutely. And it could be, as you know, you know this better than I do. When you have incidents like that in somebody's past, they can be introduced as evidence in trial for other crime. Right. It's past actions. We saw the whole dust up in the, in the Weinstein case over that very issue, similar acts testimony.

So it could very well be used, number one in the grand jury and number two at trial someday. Yeah, because if you're talking about sex trafficking using force or coercion to force people to commercial. What more you need to see than to show somebody's state of mind? Were you shocked that he issued that apology? Because, first of all, let's be clear. He doesn't issue it years ago. No.

doesn't admit to it years ago. He only admits it when the statute of limitations ran, but like we're talking about, he could still be, that video could be used against him. Weren't you shocked that he apologized for him? I am in two different ways. One, it was a feeble apology. And it was more self-serving than anything else.

Two, I gotta believe he did it without consulting his lawyer first because any defense lawyer would say, don't, let's pull off on this and figure out what our strategy is going to be. So I'm shocked at two levels. Yeah. I mean, if you're gonna apologize,

go out and say it, you know, Cassie, I'm sorry, I was a bad human being, you know, this was wrong on every level. But he denied it for so long. He denied all the allegations, and then this comes out. The apology gets him nowhere in the court of public opinion, and it hurts him in the court of law. If that video wasn't so clear, if it was grainy, if you couldn't tell what was going on, I would put money, Vegas money down that he would not have issued that apology. I guarantee it. It was just offensive and shocking on every level. And there's no way around it. And that's why you're seeing, you know, the university give back the million dollars. That's why you're seeing these other projects being canceled. He's dead in the

water right now. Nobody's going to touch him. But I do want to be clear about something. Just because that video, he admits to that, it doesn't necessarily make everything else that's being alleged about him true. And one of the things that happens is when you're dealing with very high-profile individuals, you know, the lawsuits one after another, one after another. And the timing of it, you could say, A, if one person comes out, the other people feel comfortable finally to be able to go after such an important and powerful individual like him. The other way of looking at it is they can look at it and as he is characterized as a cash grab.

People are jumping on the bandwagon. Well, I think there's always going to be some jumping on the bandwagon, yeah, and there will always be opportunists. But I think in this particular situation, the prosecutors are going to have a vast menu of criminal activity from which to pick and put in the indictment. I mean, there's a lot there, and they're not going to have trouble picking the most relevant and important crimes to prosecute them with. We did a sidebar on what the potential charges could look like, whether it was sex trafficking or racketeering or guns charges or narcotics. When I read these lawsuits, though, and one of the reasons I was very excited to talk to you, other than the fact that I love talking to you, this behavior, the idea of forcing people into commercial sex act, these are the allegations, the freak-off sessions. I mean, one of the things from Cassandra Ventura's lawsuit was that he forced her to have sexual relations with men while he watched and pleasured himself. In your experience in your career, is that consistent with other behavior?

you've seen from people before? Well, yeah. I mean, you know, we see repeat offenders all the time, and when people get away with certain behavior, they will test it again. We had a guy we caught in a sting in Ohio 18 months ago, right? He was a guy who drove from Indiana. He wanted to have sex with the 13-old girl while the father watched, then watched the father have sex with the girl. Now, these were all undercover, you know, detectives and deputies, but we watched it play out on camera. Yesterday I find out that this same man who's left Indiana is living in Ohio was charged again being on the same website trying to ignite a romantic relationship with

another underage girl. And so now he's going away forever. You should have gone away forever the first time, but now he's going to go away for a long time. Did he, you know, once charged and if in fact he's convicted of these crimes, he could be facing, you know, a long stint in prison. And these allegations, if you take them in the hole, they're coming back from the 90s. So the question becomes, how, if this is ultra, if he's ultimately charged

and ultimately convicted, how did this go on for so long? Who knew about it? Who knew what? I actually believe that a lot of people didn't come forward, either because, A, they're cooperating with the government,

they're providing information, they were subpoenaed, or they're afraid to come out. Well, I think this world, some inhabitants of this, this world, hip hop rap or whatever, were able to have this sense of impunity because they could control the people in their circle. They were giving them money. They were intimidating them with power and weapons and drugs and everything else. And I think for a long time

there's a sense, well, if I give him up, I'm going to be giving myself up. So I better not say anything because this is kind of how I'm getting my money. And little by little, this behavior escalates to a point that people are going to say enough is enough and that's what's happening here yeah and again look these are allegations at this point i am curious to see if there will be charges and when they will be charges if it ultimately happens but you know you talk about the other people that knew um christian combs his son has already been facing his own lawsuit for allegedly sexually assaulting a steward on a yacht and in that lawsuit the lawyer who fired them on behalf of the plaintiff, uses very colorful language, but basically said the apple

doesn't fall far from the tree. And taking everything is true, taking all of us true, if that's really a situation where his son is engaging in similar behavior, in your experience, do you see that past, that pattern of behavior passed in a family line like that? I interviewed a predator we caught last week who showed up in our sting, having done seven years in prison for sexually assaulting his girlfriend's 13-year-old daughter. back in 2002, talked to him in great detail. He's going away for a long time now,

but it turns out his son, who's in his early 30s, is in prison right now for assault with intent to commit murder of his girlfriend. So you do see this, and not in every case, and there are children of bad guys who are marvelous human beings who do very well in life. Yeah. But sometimes you see it, yes.

I was wondering how they're going to be able to prove may be able to prove it and a clear part of it is the witness testimony, is the testimony from the survivors. Well, I also wonder a big picture, and you know about this being a lawyer yourself. It's going to come down to a point where does he take some sort of plea, wrap this up into one hefty sentence and say, okay, enough's enough, and, you know, the kids go and I'm going to go do 20 and try to get out, you know, by the time I'm in my 70 years. Well, look, he's actively fighting the lawsuits.

And we know lawsuits are very different than charges. Right. Well, he's throwing money at it, but money's not going to last forever, even if you're rich as Diddy. His legal arguments are good, though. Like, I've looked at some of them, and I've said he actually makes good legal arguments where some of these cases could be tossed. But again, these are the lawsuits, not the charges. So we would see if a deal would be on the table and he would accept it. But I imagine, you know, one of the things that shocks me about this and the allegation was from the Rodney Jones lawsuit, his former producer, claims that Diddy has tapes about all. of the, all legally. What did you make of that?

What did you make of that? I think that's why they went heavy into the house because obviously he kept evidence, voyeuristic evidence, for his own pleasure, or at least that's the allegation. And so if they find any of those things, it's the best evidence you can possibly have. This was taken by the defendant, of illegal crimes committed by the defendant, whether it's sexual assault, you know, regular assault or human trafficking, you know, making somebody do something with somebody else, it's, it's serious. Why would some, I mean, so maybe it could be. Well, they want to relive it.

They want to relive it. This is their thing. This is, they've done so much in their, you know, perverted life that it escalates into, you know, knowing they can't do this all the time so they take video of it so they can relive the thrill of having done it the first time. Yeah. It's psychotic. Yeah.

So all in all, you believe charges are on the horrendous. horizon. I don't see how he gets out of this without criminal charges. Is there any way? I mean, this train is down the tracks. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And a fair way is down the tracks. Where does it lead? What are the ripple effects of this being? Well, I think it's going to make people in that industry look over their shoulders and start thinking, you know, geez, what party was I at? You know, people are going to start distancing themselves from alleged bad actors in this business. And I think it's going to change the culture at some point

of how some folks behave. What a saga. Oh, my gosh. It's unbelievable. And when you think about it, Jesse, here's a guy who really had the world by the tale. I mean, money, influence, creative freedom, kingmaker, prince maker, queen maker, princess maker,

and now this. And it looks like he's going to face serious criminal charges, if not go to prison. Chris Hansen, we're going to continue to follow it, see what happens. Appreciate it, Jesse. Appreciate your perspective. Appreciate your insight on it.

So Chris Hanson, we will obviously continue to follow the Diddy Saga here on Sidebar. Thank you so much for watching us. Please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcast. I'm Jesse Weber. This is Chris Hansen. Catch you next time. Now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.