Sean 'Diddy' Combs was 'singled out' because he's Black, defense says
Federal prosecutors "singled out" Sean "Diddy" Combs because he is Black, demonstrating "bad faith" and "racial animus" in handling his case, defense attorneys argued in a new court filing that sought to dismiss the prostitution charge the rap mogul faces.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution charges and is scheduled to go on trial this spring.
Defense attorneys accused the government of a racist prosecution because, they argued, "no white person has ever been the target of a remotely similar prosecution."
Combs is charged with transporting prostitutes across state lines to engage in prolonged sexual activities known as "freak offs," according to the indictment.
"Yet 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," defense attorneys Alexandra Shapiro and Marc Agnifilo wrote. "Mr. Combs has been singled out because he is a powerful black man, and he is being prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished. Count Three should be dismissed because this is a clear case of selective prosecution."
The filing said former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who was linked to a prostitution ring in 2008, "engaged in similar conduct but were never charged under the Act."
His attorneys argued Combs used the escort service Cowboys 4 Angels, featured on the Showtime show "Gigilos," to bring third-parties into his sexual relationships, which the defense cast as common among people of Combs’ stature.
"Many couples, including wealthy high-profile couples, involve third parties in their sexual relationships, sometimes for implicit or explicit remuneration," the filing said. "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 filing redacts the name Cowboys 4 Angels, but refers to the Showtime series and an episode of Nightline featuring the escort service.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment but federal prosecutors will respond to the accusation of racist, selective prosecution in a forthcoming court filing.
