Legal professionals for Sean “Diddy” Combs say the rapper has been topic to a “racist” prosecution and are looking for to dismiss one of many felony expenses towards him.
Combs was charged with racketeering conspiracy, intercourse trafficking by drive, fraud or coercion, and transportation to interact in prostitution, in September 2024.
He has pleaded not responsible, stated his sexual relationships had been consensual, and strenuously denied allegations of wrongdoing.
His legal professionals have now filed the movement to dismiss the transportation cost.
Picture:
Sean Combs (proper) and his legal professional, Marc Agnifilo, (left) at Manhattan Federal Court docket in September 2024. Sketch: Elizabeth Williams through 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 docket doc states.
It goes on to record his achievements as an “extraordinarily successful artist, businessman, philanthropist and one of the most accomplished black people in this country”.
Nevertheless, “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 legal professionals say. “But that doesn’t make him a racketeer, or a sex trafficker.”
The rapper’s authorized staff claims there “has never been a similar prosecution” below the Mann Act, the federal legislation the depend falls below, which is also called the White-Slave Visitors Act.
They allege the US authorities has “concocted” its case based mostly on allegations Combs would typically deliver 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 docket submitting states.
In addition they allege the federal government’s dealing with of the case “demonstrates bias”, and add that through the investigation of Combs, his dwelling was raided with “utterly unnecessary military-level force”.
In September, Marc Agnifilo, one in all Combs’ legal professionals, advised US leisure website TMZ he believed the US authorities had made the case “as a takedown of a successful black man”.
Prosecutors addressed the feedback in a subsequent court docket listening to, 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 at the moment set to start in Could.
