In a new attempt to dismiss at least one charge against him, Sean "Diddy" Combs argues that the government is prosecuting him under a racist law. Count 3 of the federal indictment—transportation to engage in prostitution—stems from a violation of the Mann Act, previously called the White-Slave Law, which was passed in 1910 to prohibit the transportation of women for human trafficking. Combs’ attorneys claim there has never been a similar prosecution under the Mann Act and that he is being singled out as a powerful Black man.
Combs’ attorneys argue that the statute has primarily been used to prosecute people of color, writing that the law has “a long and troubling history as a statute with racist origins, used to target Black men and supposedly protect White women from them,” and that “what was racist in its inception has often been racist in its operation.” They further claim that using escorts is "widely accepted in American culture today" and that Combs is being prosecuted for conduct that “regularly goes unpunished for White men.”
In their latest filing, Combs’ defense states, “There has never been a similar RICO prosecution. No white person has ever been the target of a remotely similar case." However, Keith Raniere, the founder of the personal development company NXIVM—which served as a recruitment tool for the sex cult DOS—was convicted of both sex trafficking and racketeering just six years ago. Ghislaine Maxwell was also found guilty of violating the Mann Act even more recently.
In other Diddy-related news, the Jane Doe who accused Sean Combs, Jay-Z, and the mysterious “Celebrity B” of watching and participating in her rape when she was 13 has dropped her lawsuit without an outside settlement. She dismissed the allegations with prejudice, meaning the case cannot be refiled.