In the wake of Homeland Security raiding two homes in Los Angeles and Miami associated with music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs as part of a sex trafficking probe on Monday, I offered our RedState readers a look into Comb's spotty past. In an editorial titled Opinion: Sean 'Diddy' Combs Never Had a Sparkling Reputation... Just Ask Tupac, I delved into four separate shooting incidents that happened in Combs' orbit between 1996 and 2022. 

Now, the 1999 nightclub shooting and subsequent trial are possibly being re-examined by federal investigators, according to two sources in law enforcement.

Here is a recap of RedState's prior coverage of the infamous incident:

In 2001, Combs was acquitted on five gun and bribery charges stemming from a shootout inside a packed Manhattan nightclub that left three people injured in 1999. It was famed criminal defense attorney Johnnie Cochran who secured his 'not guilty' verdicts. 

Instead, musician Jamal “Shyne” Barrow was convicted and sentenced to 10 years for the incident. 

Natania Reuben, a victim who was shot in the face and paid $1.8 million in damages by Combs, is adamant that he is the one who shot her, not "Shyne," and accused him of paying off witnesses, saying,

I literally told everyone and never changed what I said. I watched him, I got [shot] in the face, I watched him fire the gun. I’ve said it all this time. Even the surgeon who did my surgery testified in the criminal trial that while they were putting me under [anesthesia]. I was screaming, ‘Puffy [shot] me in the face.’… Everybody knew he did it, but he paid off the club bouncer and all these other people to hide the video. That’s his MO.

Combs former bodyguard Gene Deal also alleged that he was responsible for getting Barrow convicted (and later deported to Belize), by orchestrating and curating witnesses before sending them to the district attorney to make statements. 

Deal said,

Listen to me, y'all heard it from me, but Shyne said it himself in his interview. 'You supposed to be my brother and you got people testifying against me.' 

Those people were testifying. They were brought to Puff first, saying what they saw against Shyne, what they saw Shyne do. The D.A. didn't even know those people existed. Shyne said it himself.

In an interview, Barrow suggested that Johnnie Cochran and the "Dream Team's" position on the matter was that Combs' net worth was too high for the consequences to happen to him, saying, 

’Cause Puff is a corporation, he’s a half-a-billion dollar corporation. So, nobody is gonna sacrifice the corporation for anyone else.

Basically, Combs' walked away a free man from the shooting incident, and many people believe that Shyne took all the blame for the shooting, including one of the victims. 

The federal raids came one month after a bombshell lawsuit was filed by Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones, who had previously worked with Combs as a music producer from September 2022 to November 2023. Jones' lawsuit compares Combs' actions to those of Jeffrey Epstein and a "RICO" enterprise, alleging instances of drugging, sexual grooming and assault, and coercion into procuring sex workers, strippers, and drugs. 

This legal action brought by Jones occurred shortly after Combs settled another lawsuit from his former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, an R&B singer known as Cassie, whom he dated from 2005 to 2018. Cassie also alleged sexual violence and described Combs running an operation akin to Epstein's, involving sexual assault, human trafficking, and blackmail through hidden cameras capturing compromising activities of prominent individuals.

Other allegations made by Jones include intimidation, threats, and brandishing weapons. The lawsuit says Combs was “bragging about bribing witnesses, and jurors in the criminal case concerning the 1999 NYC nightclub shooting with Shyne.” Jones alleges that Combs confessed to the shooting, saying that he "shared that he was responsible for the shooting in the nightclub in New York City with rapper Shyne." The civil suit also alleges that then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez "carried the firearm into the club for him and passed him the gun after he got into an altercation with another individual."

After the nightclub melee in 1999, Combs and Lopez fled the scene in a Lincoln Navigator and were later arrested after the discovery of a firearm in the vehicle. The vehicle's driver, Wardel Fenderson, later said that he blew past several red lights and weaved past two police cars as they careened down 43rd Street and onto Eighth Avenue. Fenderson testified during the 2001 trial that Combs had attempted to bribe him to claim ownership of the firearm.

Lopez was released from police custody after 14 hours without facing charges.

During the 2001 trial, Combs' legal team, including the famed defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, cast doubt on the assertion that Lopez carried the gun or that Combs would even carry one in her "famous" presence. One lawyer told the judge: 

I don’t know if you know this, judge, but this person Jennifer Lopez is a very famous actress. To think Mr. Combs is walking around with her with a loaded gun … it’s so ridiculous that it stretches the imagination.

Cassie's previous lawsuit, settled last year, similarly alleged that she was made to "carry his [Combs'] firearm in her purse just to make her uncomfortable and demonstrate how dangerous he is.”

As indicated in the prior coverage above, the allegations of witness tampering in the nightclub shooting case have been corroborated by statements made by Combs' former bodyguard, Gene Deal, and Jamal "Shyne" Barrow.

Notably, Combs changed his nickname from "Puff Daddy" to "P. Diddy" in the aftermath of his acquittal in an effort to rebrand his image and move away from the scandal.

New York criminal defense attorney Michael Discioarro, who is familiar with the case, said, 

They got eyes on him in Miami and the feds are talking to witness after witness. They’re corroborating everything they can. But everything past and present is on the table with Mr. Diddy right now.

Natania Reuben, the victim who testified that Combs shot her in the face, has come forward in light of the federal raids on Combs, urging for the case to be re-opened. She said:

I would absolutely, unequivocally like the case reopened. It needs to be reopened. And the saddest part for me is had people taken what I said more seriously and listened more intently, 24-years worth of people probably would not have had to suffer.

Combs, through his legal representatives, has denied all wrongdoing and condemned the federal raids on his homes as "militarized" and "excessive." 

One minor arrest has been made so far. Brendan Paul, a 24-year-old accused of being a drug and gun "mule" in Jones' civil case, was taken into custody at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport on Monday. He faces charges of possessing cocaine and a controlled substance. Paul posted a bond and was released on Tuesday.