Diddy’s legal team says the Bad Boy Records founder’s Mann Act convictions “should not stand,” arguing in recently filed court documents that their client was merely “producing amateur pornography for later private viewing.”
For those unfamiliar, the Mann Act, initially passed over a century ago, does indeed have a controversial history in terms of how it’s been applied. In its current form, the law is aimed at criminalizing the transportation of “any individual in interstate or foreign commerce” with the intention of engaging in prostitution “or in any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense.”
In docs dated July 30 and viewed by Complex, Diddy’s lawyers take issue with the Mann Act being used in this case, even going so far as to argue that “no other case” with similar details has seen the law being applied in this manner. As they see it, Diddy, who remains behind bars following a split verdict in his federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial earlier this month, should have his conviction reversed due to what lawyers have argued is a violation of the First Amendment.
“The freak-offs and hotel nights were performances that he or his girlfriends typically videotaped so they could watch them later,” lawyers wrote in a motion in support of an acquittal, or a new trial, on Wednesday. “In other words, he was producing amateur pornography for later private viewing. This is protected First Amendment conduct that no substantial government interest justifies prohibiting, since the films depicted adults voluntarily engaging in consensual activity.”
Deeper into the docs, Diddy’s legal team argued that their client remains behind bars “based on evidence that he paid adult male escorts and entertainers” to take part in what they argue was consensual sexual activity.
“That is not prostitution, and if it is, his conviction is unconstitutional,” they wrote, adding that the court should either grant an acquittal or ensure a new trial is put in motion, further arguing that their client did not see financial gain from the alleged Mann Act violations.
Diddy is currently set to be sentenced in October. In a recent interview with Shawn Setaro for Complex, Halle Carr, a public speaker known for her work in human trafficking education and prevention, spoke at length about the final jury outcome in the much-publicized case. Per Carr, trafficking doesn’t typically resemble “what we’ve seen play out in the movies,” like the Liam Neeson-starring Taken, for example.
