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Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers slam feds for using 'racist' law 'used to target Black men'

Sean "Diddy" Combs' lawyers are criticizing his federal indictment for using a "racist" law.

In a Tuesday filing, lawyers for Combs filed a motion to dismiss his transportation to engage in prostitution charge, arguing "no white person has ever been the target of a remotely similar prosecution."

Combs' defense team argues that "there has never been a similar RICO prosecution," and the federal charges have largely been based on "allegations that Mr. Combs and two of his longtime girlfriends sometimes brought a third party — a male escort — into their sexual relationship" from another state.

Federal prosecutors declined to comment on the filing.

 

Lawyers for Sean 'Diddy' Combs claim one of the federal charges against him rely on a 'racist' law historically 'used to target Black men.'
Lawyers for Sean "Diddy" Combs claim one of the federal charges against him rely on a "racist" law historically "used to target Black men."Samir Hussein, Getty Images For Sean Diddy Comb
 

 

Among the several federal charges against Combs is a violation of the Mann Act, officially known as the White-Slave Traffic Act, which makes it illegal to transport people across state or international lines for the purpose of prostitution. Combs lawyers argue the law has a history of racial bias that rarely results in prosecution.

His lawyers say the law was historically "used to target Black men and supposedly protect white women from them," adding that people like Jim Crow-era boxer Jack Johnson and Chuck Berry have been accused under the act, which targets "black male sexuality" and accuses them of "deviant sexual behavior."

"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," the U.S. Southern District of New York filing reads. "Mr. Combs has been singled out because he is a powerful black man, and he is being prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished."

 

Diddy performs at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in a special one night only event at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on Nov. 7, 2023, in London, less than a year before his arrest in New York on federal sex crimes charges.
Diddy performs at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in a special one night only event at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on Nov. 7, 2023, in London, less than a year before his arrest in New York on federal sex crimes charges. Samir Hussein, Getty Images For Sean Diddy Comb
 

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The filing adds that the "use of" male or female escorts is "common" and "widely accepted," noting the company Combs used for this service – which has been redacted – is a "legitimate commercial business" that has been featured in an unnamed "long-running TV series."

Why is Diddy in jail?

According to the indictment filed in federal court on Sept. 12 and unsealed Sept. 17, Combs turned his "multi-faceted business empire" into a "criminal enterprise" in which he and his associates engaged in kidnapping, arson and physical violence, sex trafficking and forced labor, among other crimes.

In a revised indictment in January, the federal prosecutors referenced three unnamed female victims as part of the transportation to engage in prostitution charge.

During his Sept. 17 arraignment, Combs pleaded not guilty to one count of sex trafficking, one count of racketeering and one count of transportation to engage in prostitution. Despite his legal team's requests for him to be released on a $50 million bond, multiple judges have ruled for him to remain incarcerated in the Special Housing Unit at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center.

The federal charges are in addition to dozens of lawsuits against the Revolt TV founder, including a Feb. 13 lawsuit from an unnamed accuser alleging the producer subjected her to four hours of unwanted groping in 1999.

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.

Contributing: KiMi Robinson

Author: Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY

Source: USA Today

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