Sean Combs, AKA Diddy, and his legal team has been notified by officers from the Southern District of New York that he is a subject of an ongoing criminal investigation, NBC News reported citing two sources who are familiar with Combs' legal issues.

These sources also confirmed that a federal grand jury has been impaneled to hear evidence as part of the investigation. However, there have been no indications that charges will be brought against Combs soon. He has not received a target letter which is sent by a US attorney if it is believed that there is substantial evidence linking them to the commission of a crime. However, SDNY is not required to send him one.

Sean Combs and a grand jury

Sean Combs AKA Diddy mired in second sexual assault lawsuit

This grand jury investigation is three months after the rap mogul's houses in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by authorities.

In May, after CNN showed a video of Combs beating then-girlfriend Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura in 2016 at a hotel in Los Angeles, he apologized in a video he posted on Instagram. In it, he admitted he was at fault and said that he took “full responsibility.”

Combs stated, “It's so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that. I was f***ed up — I mean, I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses.”

When news of Ventura's allegations of assault and sex trafficking hit the media, the rapper denied it. Ventura described the details of her assault in a federal lawsuit filed in November last year. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount less than 24 hours after Ventura filed her claims.

When Combs admitted to the assault, Ventura's lawyer Meredith Firetog said, “When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday.”

She added, “He was only compelled to ‘apologize' once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation.”

Ventura's lawyers did not respond when they were asked whether their client would take part in the grand jury proceedings.

Combs has been accused of multiple allegations resulting in several civil lawsuits. The most recent one was filed July 3 by an adult film actress who accused the rapper of sex trafficking.

The hip-hop mogul has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged. His lawyer, Jonathan Davis, dismissed the most recent claim.

“No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won't change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone,” he said.

“We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason and without any proof. Fortunately, a fair and impartial judicial process exists to find the truth and Mr. Combs is confident he will prevail against these and other baseless claims in court,” Davis added.

What is a grand jury?

While many of us are familiar with the words grand jury, we're not quite well-versed with what they do.

First things first, a grand jury does not decide if the subject of the investigation is guilty. Members of the grand jury can range between 16 to 23 and they hear the witnesses that are brought before them by an ADA or an assistant district attorney. They then decide one of three things: hand in an indictment, find that there isn't enough evidence to go to trial or they can transfer the case to the lower courts if they decide that the case is more a misdemeanor than a felony. A grand jury only hears criminal cases, not civil ones.

For a grand jury to reach a quorum — the minimum number of members in a group — they need 17 votes. To either indict or dismiss a case, they need 12 votes. Grand jury sessions are done in secret. It's a misdemeanor offense if a juror reveals what happens in the jury room.

We're also quite familiar with the word indictment, but maybe some of us don't know what that exactly means. It's a formal accusation, which means that the grand jury believes that the individual committed a crime. An indictment is brought forward before a trial can begin. This trial is then done before a petit jury with 12 members and four alternates.
In Combs' case, the investigation is still ongoing. It's unclear how long the grand jury investigation will last. His status could be upgraded or downgraded during the course of this investigation.
Most recently, Howard University has revoked the honorary degree the school bestowed on him in 2014. The university also ended a 2016 gift agreement with him and a 2023 pledge agreement with the Sean Combs Foundation. The school also announced that they will return his $1 million contribution.