Attorneys for Diddy have filed a motion urging a federal judge to overturn his recent conviction under the Mann Act or grant a new trial. The filing contends the charges are legally unsupported, violate constitutional protections, and conflict with decades of Justice Department policy.
Diddy, who was acquitted of all trafficking, coercion, and racketeering charges, now faces conviction only on two Mann Act counts. His defense argues that the verdict is inconsistent with the law’s original intent, which traditionally targets cases involving commercial sex trafficking or minors.
According to the motion, Diddy is the first person convicted under 18 U.S.C. §2421(a) without evidence of sex, financial gain, coercion, or trafficking. The jury found that all participants were consenting adults, and that Combs neither profited from nor intended harm through the private acts in question.
The Mann Act, a century-old law with origins in racial bias and moral policing, is rarely used in cases involving adult consensual activity. The defense states that the government’s use of prejudicial evidence during trial unfairly tainted the outcome and demands a retrial limited to evidence relevant to the Mann Act counts.
Calling the prosecution “unprecedented,” the filing claims that the remaining convictions should be set aside because they criminalize constitutionally protected private conduct.