Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ legal team has filed a motion seeking the dismissal of one of the federal charges against him, arguing that the case is racially biased. They contend that “no white person has ever been the target of a remotely similar prosecution” under the Mann Act.
In a memorandum filed Tuesday evening, Combs’ attorneys asserted that there has “never been a similar RICO prosecution” and that he is being “singled out because he is a powerful Black man, prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished.”
The motion specifically challenges Count Three of his S1 Indictment, which alleges that from 2009 to 2024, Combs engaged in transporting individuals for prostitution.
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His legal team argues that the charge is based on consensual encounters involving his girlfriends and male escorts hired through a legal service.
“Many couples, including wealthy, high-profile individuals, involve third parties in their sexual relationships, sometimes with implicit or explicit remuneration,” the filing states. It highlights that white public figures, such as former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, have engaged in similar behavior without facing Mann Act charges. “Such conduct has never previously triggered Mann Act liability.”
Combs’ attorneys argue that the charge exemplifies selective prosecution, citing the Mann Act’s history of being used disproportionately against Black men. Also known as the White-Slave Traffic Act, the law has been criticized for its racialized enforcement.
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“This prosecution is yet another instance where [the Mann Act] has been invidiously deployed against a prominent Black man,” the memorandum states.
Combs remains in custody in Brooklyn ahead of his May trial. He faces charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation for the purpose of prostitution.
Meanwhile, a woman who had previously accused Combs and Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13 recently dropped her lawsuit. However, multiple lawsuits against the Bad Boy Records founder are still ongoing.
