Diddy is trying to have a charge in his superseding indictment dropped by arguing that the law itself is “racist,” but federal authorities have quickly responded, calling his claim “outrageous and illogical.”
Documents filed on Tuesday, March 4, and obtained by HipHopDX reveal that the government rejected the mogul’s argument, stressing that “race played no role whatsoever in the decision to seek the charges contained in the Indictment, which instead stemmed from the defendant’s decades of criminal conduct.” The government concluded, “Because the defendant offers nothing more than conjecture to suggest otherwise, the Motion should be denied.” HipHopDX reached out to Diddy’s legal team for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
Diddy’s motion, filed on February 18, centers on a charge of transporting individuals for prostitution, one of three charges in the indictment along with sex trafficking and racketeering. His defense argues that no similar prosecutions have been made under the Mann Act, which has been in effect for over 100 years and was created to prevent the transportation of women for sex. Additionally, the motion claims that no white person has been prosecuted under this law, suggesting that Diddy is being unfairly targeted due to his race.
The filing claims that Diddy is being singled out because “he is a powerful Black man,” and argues he is being prosecuted for actions that “regularly go unpunished.” It also asserts, “What was racist in its inception has often been racist in its operation.”
In addition, the motion restates Diddy’s position that all sexual activities involving him and others were consensual, calling the 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.” The defense also accuses federal prosecutors of leaking information to the media, alleging bias and claiming that the leaks are damaging and sometimes false, designed to prejudice the jury pool and “humiliate Mr. Combs.”
Previously, the government has dismissed claims of racial discrimination, with a prosecutor calling similar accusations from Diddy’s legal team “baseless” during a pretrial hearing last October. The prosecutor further stated that such claims posed a “serious risk” to a fair trial.
Diddy, who has been in jail since his arrest last September, denies all the charges against him and maintains that any sexual activity was consensual. His trial is scheduled to start on May 5, and if convicted, he faces a potential life sentence.
