Defense attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs are reportedly arguing that federal prosecutors “singled out” the disgraced music mogul because he is black, and claim authorities have demonstrated “bad faith” and “racial animus” in handling the case.
Combs’ attorneys made these assertions in a new court filing seeking to dismiss the music mogul’s prostitution charge, according to a report by ABC News.
In their court filing, defense attorneys claimed the charges against Combs are racially motivated, arguing that “no white person has ever been the target of a remotely similar prosecution” under the Mann Act.
“Mr. Combs has been singled out because he is a powerful black man, and he is being prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished,” defense attorneys Alexandra Shapiro and Marc Agnifilo wrote.
“Count Three should be dismissed because this is a clear case of selective prosecution,” the attorneys added.
The defense attorneys went on to cite former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D), who had “engaged in similar conduct but were never charged under the Act.”
The filing was likely referring to Spitzer having resigned as governor in 2008, amid a prostitution scandal that destroyed his reputation.
The music mogul’s defense team also reportedly argued that the “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” singer had used a popular and well-known escort service to bring people into his sexual activities, which the attorneys suggested is common practice among people of Combs’ status.
“Many couples, including wealthy high-profile couples, involve third parties in their sexual relationships, sometimes for implicit or explicit remuneration,” the filing stated.
“No federal prosecutor, in this district or any other, has targeted the company, its CEO, or its escorts. Nor has any prosecutor previously targeted any customer who purchased escort services from Cowboys 4 Angels,” the attorneys added.
As Breitbart News reported, Combs has been in jail since September 16 following a federal indictment accusing him of more than a decade of abusing, threatening, and coercing women and others, racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice, among other crimes.
The music mogul has been denied bail three times after a New York judge ruled that Combs must remain behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center while he awaits his upcoming sex trafficking trial, set for May 5.
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