Diddy’s attorneys claims he’s being ‘singled out’ for being a ‘powerful Black man’ in new motion

Attorneys for Sean 'Diddy' Combs seek to dismiss a Mann Act charge, arguing racial bias in his prosecution and highlighting unfair treatment.

Attorneys for Sean 'Diddy' Combs have filed a new motion requesting the court to dismiss Count Three of the Superseding Indictment. The motion comes after prosecutors added a charge to the indictment, citing the Mann Act, which prohibits the transportation of individuals for prostitution or criminal sexual activity. The disgraced mogul, who is currently incarcerated in Brooklyn on sex trafficking charges, is seeking to challenge this new addition in the ongoing legal proceedings.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs' attorneys filed a motion to dismiss a new charge added to his indictment related to the Mann Act, claiming racial bias. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)(AFP)

Diddy believes he is being ‘singled out’

According to The Mirror, in the latest indictment, prosecutors have added two more women to the list of individuals they claimed Diddy coerced into sex acts. These new allegations expand the scope of the charges against the music mogul, as he faces accusations of sex trafficking and related offences. However, his lawyers alleged, “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’s attorneys highlighted the history of the Mann Act, originally known as the White-Slave Traffic Act, calling it "racist in its inception" as they maintain it continues to be. They also argued that the act itself is a part of a “long and troubling history as a statute with racist origins, used to target Black men and supposedly protect white women from them." They further added that the use of escorts is “common and indeed widely accepted in American culture today,” notably in pop culture and TV.

The latest motion which requests the particular section removed from the indictment, claimed, “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.”

Latest motion from the defence

The defence’s latest motion alleges that “no white person has ever been the target of a remotely similar prosecution.” According to the documents, the motion states, “There has never been a similar RICO prosecution. No white person has ever been the target of a remotely similar case." Diddy’s attorneys reiterated concerns about bias in the jury pool, fearing it could impact the case's outcome.

They claimed that “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 often times false) material to the press,” as reported by The Mirror US.