Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attorneys are fighting back against one of his charges, arguing that the prosecution is racially biased and based on a law, originally known as the White-Slave Traffic Act, passed over a century ago.
“This case is unprecedented in many ways,” the motion obtained by AllHipHop states. “But perhaps most notably, and most disturbingly, no white person has ever been the target of a remotely similar prosecution.”
The incarcerated mogul’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss Count Three of the Superseding Indictment in their motion filed Tuesday (February 18), highlighting what they claim is selective enforcement against Combs due to his race and status.
The indictment cites the Mann Act, initially known as the White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910, designed to prohibit the transportation of women or girls across state lines for prostitution, debauchery, or other immoral purposes.
However, Diddy’s legal team argued that the charges against Combs represented an unjust application of the law. Specifically, the filing notes that “there has never been a similar RICO prosecution” and that “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.”
Additionally, the rapper’s attorneys assert the Mann Act has “a long and troubling history as a statute with racist origins, used to target Black men and supposedly protect White women from them.”
Diddy’ Attorneys Accuse Prosecution Of Bias
The defense claims the prosecution is rooted in racial discrimination, stating, “Mr. Combs has been singled out because he is a powerful Black man, and he is being prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished.”
The motion further critiques the historical use of the Mann Act, asserting, “What was racist in its inception has often been racist in its operation.”
According to the filing, the case against Combs is built largely on allegations that he and two longtime girlfriends occasionally hired male escorts. The defense argues 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.”
Beyond the charges themselves, the defense argues that the prosecution has engaged in conduct intended to damage Combs’ reputation and bias potential jurors. “The government’s handling of this case demonstrates bias and animus. It has gone out of its way to humiliate Mr. Combs and to prejudice the jury pool with pretrial publicity that plays on racist tropes. It has leaked damaging (and oftentimes false) material to the press,” the motion claims.
Currently, Diddy remains in federal custody in Brooklyn on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
His trial is set to begin in May.