Flashback: The prominent Democrat has had quite the collaboration with rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, whom federal authorities charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and other offenses in a shocking indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and former President Barack Obama have all been involved with the “Hello, Good Morning” artist on Democratic causes over the years, making Combs one of several high-profile voices supporting the Democratic Party throughout his career.
In 2020, Harris Trump, the Democratic front-runner in the 2024 presidential election, thanked Combs for hosting a political rally about COVID-19.
“There is currently a great crisis for our communities and it is important to bring to the forefront how COVID-19 is perpetuating racial inequities and health disparities,” Harris wrote on X.
Combs also played a key role in attracting young voters to the Democratic Party at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, interviewing young delegates and Democratic lawmakers, including Obama and Clinton, for MTV.
Sean “Diddy” Combs arrested after raid and human trafficking investigation
Barack Obama (left), then a U.S. Senate candidate from Illinois, talks with Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/WireImage for Citizen Change)
In 2008, just days before the election, Combs made a final effort to woo black voters to the Obama campaign at a Democratic event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, dubbed the “Last Chance Rally for Change.”
In 2020, Combs endorsed then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, launched the Political Black Party, and said in a podcast interview with Sharmaan the God that “white men like Trump need to be thrown out.”
Combs was due to receive the key to the city in September 2023, but it was returned at the request of Mayor Adams after a 2016 video surfaced of him allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie. Mayor Adams notified Combs in a letter that the key was revoked, and it was returned to the city on June 10.
From right to left, Ben Affleck, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, John Cusack, and then-Senator Hillary Clinton attend the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Boston on July 29, 2004. (Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
Combs was one of dozens of Black organizations that wrote a letter to Biden urging him to choose a Black vice presidential running mate in August 2020. The letter appeared to be addressing reports that then-Senator Harris was too “ambitious” to be Biden's choice. The Hill reported.
Combs had previously appeared in photographs with former President Donald Trump, primarily at galas and other non-political celebrity events.
FOX NATION SPECIAL INVESTIGATES SEAN DIDDY COMBS INVESTIGATION AND ATTACK
PALM BEACH, FL – MARCH 11: Donald and Melania Trump, Sean “P Diddy” Combs, Kimora Lee Simmons and Russell Simmons attend the Russell Simmons “Art for Life Palm Beach” honoring Sean “P Diddy” Combs at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on March 11, 2005. (Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images) (Photo: Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images)
Combs appeared in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York confirmed that he was arrested by federal agents on an unpublished indictment on Monday.
According to an indictment unsealed Tuesday, the rapper was charged with organized criminal conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, and transportation for the purpose of prostitution.
Click here to view the indictment
Authorities alleged that Combs ran a criminal enterprise through businesses including Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs Enterprises and Combs Global. According to an unsealed indictment obtained by Fox News Digital, he used “force, firearms, threats of violence, coercion, verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse” to satisfy his sexual desires.
According to court documents, Combs “physically, mentally and verbally abused” his victims to coerce them into participating in “freak-offs,” and he also supplied sex workers and female victims with drugs to facilitate sexual acts.
Diddy allegedly forced former student Kim Porter to take ecstasy during sexual assault, according to a new lawsuit
From left to right, Mary J. Blige, Russell Simmons, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jay-Z perform onstage at the “Last Chance for Change” rally in support of then-Senator Barack Obama on November 2, 2008 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Larry Marano/Getty Images)
“The freak-offs were elaborate sexual acts that Combs planned, supervised and often electronically recorded while masturbating,” authorities said. After the “freak-offs,” Combs would often give his victims intravenous fluids to help them recover from physical labor or drug use, according to the indictment.
During a search of Combs' home in March, authorities Court documents state that three AR-15 guns with obliterated serial numbers were seized, along with “pervert paraphernalia.” “We also seized multiple boxes of personal lubricants and baby oil, totaling over 1,000 bottles, that Combs' staff had allegedly stocked in the pervert hotel rooms,” Williams said at the press conference.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Clinton, Obama, Adams and Harris for comment but did not receive a response before publication.
Asked for comment, a White House spokesperson referred Fox News Digital to a statement from press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at a press briefing on Tuesday: “This is an ongoing situation, it's a legal matter, we'll have to refer that to the Department of Justice. All of this is happening today. So, we don't comment on ongoing legal matters. We don't comment from here. So, I won't say any more.”
Fox News Digital's Lauryn Oberhaltz and Andrew Murray contributed to this report.
