Department of Homeland Security agents did full raids of Sean Combs’ Miami and LA homes on Monday. The raids were coordinated, and local law enforcement agents were also on the scene. Sean Combs is in it, this isn’t going to be something he can shrug off. For now, it doesn’t look like he’s being arrested or detained, but I’m sure DHS is monitoring his movements in case he does try to flee. So how did we get here? It probably all started with Cassie’s lawsuit last year – Combs was so scared of what Cassie might reveal, he settled the lawsuit within 24 hours. That raised a lot of red flags about Combs’ alleged involvement in everything from drug trafficking to human trafficking to serial sexual abuse to financial fraud. Well, Combs is lawyered up and his lawyer is doing full briefings to CNN?

An attorney for Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is the target of a federal investigation, has spoken out about the searches that took place at two of the musician’s homes on Monday. Aaron Dyer, Diddy’s attorney, said in a statement to CNN on Tuesday: “Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs’ residences. There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated.”

Authorities searched Combs’ homes on Monday because he is a target of a federal investigation carried out by a Department of Homeland Security team that handles human trafficking crimes, according to a senior federal law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. The probe is being led by the US attorney for the Southern District of New York and carried out by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Transnational Organized Crime Division, the official told CNN. HSI is responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, including human trafficking, terrorism, narcotics smuggling and other organized criminal activity.

The investigation stems from many of the same sexual assault allegations put forth in several civil lawsuits against Combs, according to a second law enforcement source familiar with Monday’s searches. Combs has previously denied those allegations. Heavily armed teams of HSI agents searched Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and the Miami area Monday – some riding in armored vehicles, in part because authorities believed Combs employs armed private security at each of his residences, the first source said. A law enforcement source earlier told CNN that Monday’s searches were related to an ongoing sex trafficking investigation.

Dyer said Combs was “never detained” during the searches “but spoke to and cooperated with authorities.”

“Despite media speculation, neither Mr. Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested nor has their ability to travel been restricted in any way,” Dyer’s statement said. “This unprecedented ambush – paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence – leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits….There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations. Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”

Combs and his twin teenage daughters were preparing to leave Miami for a planned spring break trip on Monday when the searches happened, a source close to Diddy and with direct knowledge of the situation told CNN. The source would not reveal Combs’ vacation destination or current whereabouts. Those close to Diddy believe the scale of the federal operation at his Los Angeles and Miami-area homes was “overzealous,” that source said. The source echoed some of the criticism of law enforcement’s actions outlined in Dyer’s statement.

Diddy’s inner circle believes the media was tipped off about search of his Los Angeles home because a news helicopter was hovering above his residence before law enforcement breached his property, the source said.

[From CNN]

It’s interesting that there’s a focus on whether law enforcement tipped off the media. It could be that DHS really tipped off the media, but it’s far more likely that someone processing the search warrants or coordinating the raids just let something slip. As in, this was a tip from one person looking for a quick payday as opposed to one part of a DHS campaign against Combs. As for the rest of it… Sean Combs made a big song and dance about Cassie’s lawsuit and folded within a day. This feels like a pattern: the first instinct is “bluster” and then he shuts up and does whatever he can to weasel out of everything. DHS isn’t just going to go away though.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.