“Names That Will Shock You”: Allegations Against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Associates Explode in Number

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Newsbites

• Stat of the week: The median size of homes built in the U.S. has increased from 1,500 square feet in 1960 to over 2,000 square feet today (40% increase). Meanwhile, over that same period, the average family size has gone down.

  

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• Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, gave his first public press conference (video) this week since being released from a maximum security UK prison. Assange reached a plea deal with the U.S. in June. Speaking to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Assange stressed the need for Europe to strengthen its laws protecting freedom of speech and journalists in particular, especially from extradition requests from the U.S. He criticized U.S. intelligence agencies for their tactics of “transnational repression” and confirmed that former-CIA director, Mike Pompeo, explicitly directed the CIA to draw up plans to assassinate Assange in 2017. Assange also said a CIA asset was permanently assigned to track his wife and son.
  
  More: “I think this is an important lesson: when a major power faction wants to reinterpret the law, it can push to have the element of the State, in this case the U.S. Department of Justice, do that and it doesn't care too much about what is legal, that's something for a much later day. In the meantime, the deterrent effect that it seeks, the retributive actions that it seeks, have had their effect.” - Julian Assange

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• Day of Prayer for Peace: Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, has called for a day of prayer for peace on October 7, which Pope Francis has also echoed. Monday, October 7, will mark the one anniversary of the War in Gaza. Shortly after the war broke out in Gaza one year ago, Cardinal Pizzaballa said he was willing to exchange himself in order to free Israeli children hostages.

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• The War in the Middle East continues to grow, with Israel initiating a ground incursion into Lebanon this week to further its fight with Hezbollah. According to Lebanese officials, the latest Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,000 people, injured thousands, and displaced more than 1M people. Meanwhile, Iran, which backs Hezbollah, launched a massive barrage of nearly 200 missiles into Israel on Tuesday (video). Israel’s air defense system, with help from the U.S., intercepted the majority of missiles, resulting in minimal damage and virtually no confirmed casualties. In a post on X, Iran indicated it was done retaliating for the time being. How Israel will respond remains unclear, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The regime in Tehran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and to exact a price from our enemies.”

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• Dockworkers Strike: The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), a union group which represents more than 45,000 dockworkers at East Coast ports of the U.S., reached a tentative agreement with the shipping industry counterparty on Thursday. The agreement secures wage increases of 61.5% over a six-year period and includes some language protecting dockworkers from automation technologies. Some issues remain unresolved and will be revisited in January 2025. The ILA had been striking since Tuesday, which led to the closure of 14 ports and attracted the attention of the White House for the potential economic fallout.

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• Rescue the republic event: A group of disaffiliated scientists, psychologists, and actors gathered in Washington D.C. this week for a “Rescue the Republic” event. The speakers included Russel Brand, Jordan Peterson, Brett Weinstein, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard. Although some of its members have publicly endorsed Donald Trump, most of the group considers themselves politically independent. According to its website, the goal of the movement is to “protest the ongoing dismantling and destruction of Western values across the globe.” The banner on the event podium said MAHA, meaning make America healthy again, a line RFK Jr. has coined.

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• Haiti in crisis: A new report says around 6,000 Hatians are starving and half of the country’s 11M people are experiencing crisis-level hunger as gang violence persists through the country. “This is one of the highest proportions of acutely food insecure people in any crisis around the world,” said U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric. Haitian gangs control roughly 80% of the capital city, Port-au-Prince, and block food from being delivered from farmers. Between April and June this year, at least 1,379 people were reported killed or injured in Haiti, with another 428 kidnapped.

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• VP Debate: JD Vance and Tim Walz met for what is likely the final televised debate before the election. The debate was surprisingly civil, with Vance and Walz even finding common ground on certain issues, such as childcare policy. At one point, Vance pushed back on the ABC moderators who fact checked him about the immigration app called CBP1. In another moment, Governor Walz accidentally said, “I’ve become friends with school shooters” and blanked when confronted about whether he was in China during the Tiananmen Square protests. Just hours before the debate, Polymarket, an online betting website had Walz winning at about 70%. Within minutes of the debate starting, that number quickly tipped in favor of Vance. (debate video highlights)

  

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“Names That Will Shock You”: Allegations Against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Associates Explode in Number

“The names that we're gonna name, assuming that our investigators confirm and corroborate what we've been told, are names that will shock you.” - Tony Buzbee

Some context: 
Sean Combs, also known as “Diddy” or “P Diddy”, was arrested in New York on September 16 after a grand jury indicted him on charges of racketeering conspiracy and federal sex trafficking. Combs has been one of the most influential hip hop producers for decades, associating with many influential individuals and corporations. Combs is being prosecuted in NY by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. A federal judge denied Combs’ bail, which was set at $50M. The investigation is ongoing, and a trial date has not been set. 

What happened this week?
In addition to the grand jury indictment, Sean Combs is facing at least 120 new allegations of sexual assault and misconduct that occurred over the course of more than 30 years. Attorney Tony Buzbee, of the Buzbee Law Firm, along with Ava Law Group, are representing the victims.

Buzbee revealed the information in a press conference on Tuesday (video). He said over the past 25 years his firm has handled “some very big and very important cases” but “that this one may surpass them all.” 

• While “Diddy” is the primary defendant in most cases, Buzbee said many other people are implicated, adding that “the names that we're gonna name, assuming that our investigators confirm and corroborate what we've been told, are names that will shock you.”

• The defendants will also include corporations such as banks, pharmaceutical companies and hotels.

The law firms will begin filing the cases within 30 days, at which point more details will emerge.

Below is a summary of Buzbee’s comments:

• Since Combs’ indictment a little over a week ago, more than 3,285 individuals have contacted Buzbee’s firm claiming to have been victimized by Combs. The firm is working to vet each instance before filing a claim.

• The abuse often occurred at music industry events, parties, and private recording sessions. Most victims were allegedly given a drugged drink, abused, and then given cash and told to keep quiet. This was often accompanied by threats of violence, or negative financial and career repercussions. Many of the minors were manipulated through promises of opportunities to get noticed in the music industry.

• Thus far, Buzbee has agreed to represent 120 of the more than 3,000 individuals to bring civil claims against Combs and other perpetrators. It will not be a class action lawsuit, in which one person represents a group of people. Rather, each will be an individual case.

• The 120 cases are evenly divided between men and women that allege Combs victimized them. 25 of the victims were minors at the time. The instances happened over the course of more than 30 years, from 1991 to 2024, with the majority happening after 2015. More than 55% of victims filed reports with authorities - either with the police or hospitals after the instances. Buzbee’s firm is working with the reports to corroborate the allegations.