Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyers have come up with a new strategy to try and secure his freedom ahead of the rapper’s May 5 court date. This time, they are seeking to get one of his federal racketeering charges dismissed by alleging he is being racially targeted. But perhaps even more interestingly, the defense no longer seems shy about throwing around names that could help them navigate Diddy’s extensive list of allegations.
The charge Diddy is particularly trying to shed from his litany of accusations is the alleged violation of the Mann Act. This long-standing legislation, created in 1910 to protect women from being sex trafficked across state lines, has been widely interpreted over the years, unfortunately often used to settle personal scores. For instance, legendary boxer Jack Johnson was racially profiled using the Mann Act in 1913 for being in relationships with white women. In a retrospective published by PBS, Johnson was found transporting a sex worker across state lines, and at the time, this law was reportedly used to prosecute “undesirables” like him. Diddy’s lawyers plan to use a similar defense.
According to Complex, Diddy’s legal team argues that violations of the Mann Act are typically ignored by authorities, making it an act of racism to apply the law selectively against him. It’s worth noting that the Mann Act has been significantly amended over the years — first in 1978 to include the trafficking of minors, then in 1986 to extend protections to males. Diddy is accused under the latter amendment, which his legal team claims is unprecedented. “Mr. Combs has been singled out because he is a powerful Black man, and he is being prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished,” his lawyers stated in their filing. “What was racist in its inception has often been racist in its operation.”
The Mann Act was partly created amid a sweeping moral panic over an alleged rise in “white slavery” — claims that were never substantiated. In some circles, it was even widely referred to as the White-Slavery Traffic Act. This isn’t the first time Diddy’s legal team has attempted to paint him as a victim in this case. Authorities previously found a list in his cell phone, suspected to contain names of victims and witnesses he planned to threaten or bribe, but his legal team argued that the search violated Diddy’s attorney-client privilege.
However, the most fascinating aspect of this new filing is that Diddy is no longer holding back from naming others he believes engaged in similar conduct. Whether due to Jay-Z publicly disowning him over their shared allegations or sheer desperation, Diddy’s lawyers have now named former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer as someone the authorities should also scrutinize.
According to Diddy’s legal team, Spitzer engaged in similar behavior but never faced the same legal repercussions. Spitzer resigned in 2008 after the New York Times exposed that he used campaign funds to book sex workers. While Diddy isn’t necessarily tying Spitzer to his infamous parties, it’s clear he feels the walls closing in after years of evading consequences. And now, he appears more emboldened than ever to expose his alleged co-conspirators.
When Diddy was first charged, everyone from Australian radio hosts to Joe Jonas quickly distanced themselves from him. However, the public was far more suspicious of how so many people suddenly claimed they had never attended his parties. It seems it won’t be long before Diddy himself starts naming names — he simply has nothing left to lose.
