Sean Combs Accusers to Testify Before Grand Jury in New York: Report

Citing California’s statute of limitations, Los Angeles officials have already announced that they can’t hold Sean Combs accountable for his now infamous—and admitted—2016 attack on then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. But the ongoing federal sex trafficking case against the fallen icon is another matter entirely. According to sources close to the US Justice Department investigation, that video could be added to the evidence federal prosecutors are currently assembling, and the new wave of people accusing Combs of crimes might have their day in court.

Allegations of sexual assault and trafficking against Sean Combs first gained traction last November when Ventura filed a civil suit against Combs. Included in her claims were details of a March 5, 2016, physical attack at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles. In her filing, Ventura said that Combs had paid $50,000 for the security footage of the incident.

Combs denied that the attack took place, as well as the other claims made in the suit, but settled with Ventura the day after she filed. After that, other women came forward, saying they too, had been assaulted by Combs. He denied their allegations, as well, saying, “I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy. Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged.”

When CNN published footage from hotel cameras that depicted the attack on Ventura, Combs backtracked from that denial, saying, “I was fucked up—I hit rock bottom—but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.”

“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video,” he said. Days later, more allegations surfaced, as yet another woman filed a sexual assault lawsuit—the eighth in the last six months—alleging “four terrifying sexual encounters” in the 1990s and 2000s.

According to sources who spoke with CNN, though these long-ago claims are winding their way through civil court, federal investigators have taken note. A sex trafficking probe centered on Combs went public in March, when the Department of Homeland Security Investigations New York confirmed that a raid on Combs’s Miami and Los Angeles mansions was “part of an ongoing investigation.”

Since then, the agency has declined to offer updates on the case, saying only, “We will provide further information as it becomes available.” But “two sources familiar with the probe” say that a federal grand jury will soon be convened in New York to hear testimony from some of those accusers, and investigators are poring over the lawsuits for information that can bolster their case.

In addition to the civil suit allegations, investigators are reportedly poring over video taken inside the mogul’s homes. It’s unclear if the tapes in question were discovered during the raid, or were supplied by witnesses, but in either case, the feds are “contacting people that they’ve found on the tapes,” a source says.

The shape of the final case is also unclear, as CNN reports that the probe might go beyond the sex trafficking allegations we’re currently familiar with. Also under consideration are “allegations of money laundering and illegal drugs,” the outlet claims. A March lawsuit against Combs by former employee Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones alleged that Combs drugged attendees of album listening parties with spiked bottles of “DeLeon Tequila, and Ciroc Vodka.”