Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ legal team is seeking to dismiss his ‘transportation to engage in prostitution’ charge, claiming that he is being targeted with a ‘racist’ law.
On Tuesday, the disgraced hip-hop mogul’s, 55, attorneys filed paperwork, obtained by DailyMail.com, asking for the judge to dismiss count three of the U.S. Attorney’s case against him.
Diddy — whose ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura previously accused him of forcing her to order male prostitutes — is charged under the Mann Act (also known as the White-Slave Traffic Act), a 1910 federal law prohibiting transporting people for prostitution.
Diddy’s lawyers assert that the law has historically been used disproportionately against Black men, citing rock ‘n roll icon Chuck Berry and boxer Jack Johnson as examples.
They allege that ‘no white person has ever been the target of a remotely similar prosecution’, pointing to former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s case, where escorts were charged but he was not.
Diddy seemingly acknowledges the conduct — hiring male escorts across state lines— but claims he’s being singled out because of his race.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’, 55, legal team is seeking to dismiss his ‘transportation to engage in prostitution’ charge, claiming that he is being targeted with a ‘racist’ law; Pictured in 2023
The original stated purpose of the Mann Act was to combat interstate prostitution.
It prohibits transporting individuals across state lines for ‘prostitution or debauchery, or any other immoral purpose.’
Federal authorities allege Diddy hired male sex workers for his ‘freak off’ parties, but he claims he’s being unfairly targeted and ‘prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished’ because he ‘is a powerful black man.’
He also claims that ‘the use of escorts, male or female, is common and indeed widely accepted in American culture today’ and that the escort service related to his case is a ‘legitimate commercial business operating out in the open.’
His attorneys claim that ‘the government has concocted a criminal case based primarily on allegations that Mr. Combs and two of his longtime girlfriends sometimes brought a third party—a male escort—into their sexual relationship.’
‘There has never been a similar RICO prosecution,’ Diddy’s attorney’s claim, adding, ‘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.’
‘What was racist in its inception has often been racist in its operation,’ the lawyers allege in regards to the the Mann Act.
They add: ‘The statute’s target was black male sexuality, and from Jack Johnson to Chuck Berry, the statute’s most notorious prosecutions targeted famous black men accused of deviant sexual behavior.’
Berry was arrested and convicted under the Mann Act in 1959. Meanwhile Johnson, the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion, was convicted under the Mann Act in 1913.
‘The government has concocted a criminal case based primarily on allegations that Mr. Combs and two of his longtime girlfriends sometimes brought a third party — a male escort — into their sexual relationship,’ his attorneys claimed on Tuesday; Diddy seen with ex Cassie Ventura
He is charged under the Mann Act (also known as the White-Slave Traffic Act), a 1910 federal law prohibiting ‘transportation to engage in prostitution’; seen in 2022
Diddy’s lawyers assert that the law has historically been used disproportionately against Black men, citing rock ‘n roll icon Chuck Berry (seen left in 1972) and boxer Jack Johnson (seen right circa 1910) as examples
They allege that ‘no white person has ever been the target of a remotely similar prosecution’, pointing to former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s case, where escorts were charged but he was not; Spitzer pictured in 2006
Federal authorities allege Diddy hired male sex workers for his ‘freak off’ parties, but he claims he’s being unfairly targeted and ‘prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished’ because he ‘is a powerful black man’; pictured in 2018
He also claims that ‘the use of escorts, male or female, is common and indeed widely accepted in American culture today’; Pictured 2022
‘High-profile white men including former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer have engaged in similar conduct but were never charged under the Act. Many couples, including wealthy high-profile couples, involve third parties in their sexual relationships, sometimes for implicit or explicit remuneration. Such conduct has never previously triggered Mann Act liability.’
Spitzer was involved in a prostitution scandal in 2008 after it was revealed that he had patronized a high-priced escort service.
However, while the operators of the escort service were charged under the Mann Act, Spitzer himself was not. He later resigned from his position as Governor.
Diddy’s ‘freak off’ parties would allegedly see the rap mogul ply women with drugs before coercing them into marathon sexual performances with male prostitutes, according to prosecutors.
These alleged parties involved sex workers and narcotics such as ketamine, ecstasy, and GHB, ‘which Combs distributed to the victims to keep them obedient and compliant,’ according to the indictment.
Diddy — who recently had a legal victory after a lawsuit that accused him and Jay-Z of raping a 13-year-old girl was dismissed — was previously accused of forcing his ex-girlfriend Cassie to order male prostitutes to fulfill his voyeurism fantasies.
Cassie filed a lawsuit in Manhattan’s Federal District Court in 2023, in which she claimed he controlled and abused her for over a decade, plied her with drugs, beat her, and forced her to have sex with multiple male prostitutes while he watched, masturbated and recorded.
Cassie’s lawsuit was settled the next day, and the case was dismissed.
However, Diddy was later charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
He has been locked up in jail since he was arrested last year. He’s been denied bail multiple times.
Diddy is currently facing a three-count indictment in federal court for sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He is also facing a significant number of civil lawsuits; seen in 2023
The hip hop mogul, who is facing life in prison, has denied all of the allegations since they first came to light and pleaded not guilty after charges were initially filed; seen in a court sketch
He has been incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center and denied bail three times by two separate judges. He will remain in jail until his criminal trial, which is scheduled for May 5
Diddy is currently facing a three-count indictment in federal court.
He is also facing a significant number of civil lawsuits with allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other misconduct.
Combs has vehemently denied all of the allegations since they first came to light and pleaded not guilty after charges were initially filed.
The Bad Boy Records star was denied bail three times by two separate judges, and will remain in jail until his criminal trial, which is scheduled for May 5.
He is facing life in prison if he is found guilty of the racketeering charge.
