Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs say the rapper has been subject to a “racist” prosecution and are seeking to dismiss one of the criminal charges against him.
In a court filing seen by Sky News, the 55-year-old’s legal team say he “has been singled out because he is a powerful black man” and is being prosecuted “for conduct that regularly goes unpunished”.
Combs was charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution, in September 2024.
He has pleaded not guilty, said his sexual relationships were consensual, and strenuously denied allegations of wrongdoing.
His lawyers have now filed the motion to dismiss the transportation charge.
Sean Combs (right) and his attorney, Marc Agnifilo, (left) at Manhattan Federal Court in September 2024. Sketch: Elizabeth Williams via AP
“This case is unprecedented in many ways, but perhaps most notably, and most disturbingly, no white person has ever been the target of a remotely similar prosecution,” the court document states.
It goes on to list his achievements as an “extraordinarily successful artist, businessman, philanthropist and one of the most accomplished black people in this country”.
However, “like many other celebrities”, Combs has had “complicated relationships with significant others as well as with alcohol and drugs throughout his time in the spotlight”, his lawyers say. “But that doesn’t make him a racketeer, or a sex trafficker.”
The rapper’s legal team claims there “has never been a similar prosecution” under the Mann Act, the federal law the count falls under, which is also known as the White-Slave Traffic Act.
They allege the US government has “concocted” its case based on allegations Combs would sometimes bring escorts into his relationships.
“No other person, and certainly no white person, has ever previously been prosecuted under the White-Slave Traffic Act for hiring male escorts from another state,” their court filing states.
They also allege the government’s handling of the case “demonstrates bias”, and add that during the investigation of Combs, his home was raided with “utterly unnecessary military-level force”.
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The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment on the latest court filing when contacted by Sky News.
In September, Marc Agnifilo, one of Combs’ lawyers, told US entertainment site TMZ he believed the US government had made the case “as a takedown of a successful black man”.
Prosecutors addressed the comments in a subsequent court hearing, US media reported in October, saying Mr Agnifilo had “baselessly accused the government of engaging in a racist prosecution”, and that this risked prejudicing potential jurors.
Combs’ trial is currently set to begin in May.