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Sean 'Diddy' Combs moves to dismiss federal charge, arguing statute’s 'racist origins'

Sean 'Diddy' Combs moves to dismiss federal charge, arguing statute’s 'racist origins'
UNSHELTERED. DEVELOPING NOW, AN OKLAHOMA WOMAN BECOMES ONE OF DOZENS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUED SEAN DIDDY COMBS ON SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS. THERE IS A NEW LAWSUIT. LATOYA GRAYSON CLAIMING THAT SHE WAS DRUGGED AND ASSAULTED AT A PARTY IN 2006 AFTER WINNING A RADIO CONTEST FOR AN ALL EXPENSES PAID TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY AND TO DIDDY’S PARTY. THE LAWSUIT CLAIMS THAT THERE WASN’T A BAR FOR PARTY ATTENDEES, BUT PRE-MADE DRINKS THAT WAITRESSES WERE WALKING AROUND WITH. GRAYSON SAYS AFTER TWO OF THOSE, SHE BEGAN TO FEEL SICK. AND THE NEXT THING THAT SHE REMEMBERS IS WAKING UP AT A HOSPITAL WITH NO MEMORY OF THE EVENTS PRIOR. GRAYSON SHIRT WAS RIPPED, UNDERWEAR WAS MISSING. SHE SAYS. SHE WAS SHOELESS. HER MONEY WAS GONE. GRAYSON CLAIMS THAT WHEN SHE ARRIVED TO THE SOONER STATE, SHE RECEIVED A CALL FROM AN ANONYMOUS WOMAN WHO THREATENED HER THAT IF SHE ATTEMPTED TO PURSUE CHARGES THAT SHE WAS THREATENING HER. NOW, SHE DID NOT SEEK ANY FURTHER MEDICAL TREATMENT OR REPORT ANYTHING BECAUSE, QUOTE, SHE WAS SCARED AND CONFUSED. GRAYSON IS DEMANDING A TRIAL BY JURY AMONG MULTIPLE OTHER VICTIMS WHO
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Sean 'Diddy' Combs moves to dismiss federal charge, arguing statute’s 'racist origins'
Attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs are moving to dismiss one of the charges the embattled music mogul is facing, arguing that the currently incarcerated Combs has been subject to a racist prosecution — which prosecutors have previously strongly denied.“This case is unprecedented in many ways, but perhaps most notably, and most disturbingly, no White person has ever been the target of a remotely similar prosecution,” Combs’ defense argued in a new motion, filed Tuesday evening.“Mr. Combs has been singled out because he is a powerful Black man, and he is being prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished,” the filing continued.Combs’ attorneys are asking the court to drop Count Three in the superseding indictment against Combs — transportation to engage in prostitution — arguing that there has “never been a similar” prosecution under The Mann Act.The Mann Act, which was previously called the White-Slave Traffic Act, was passed in 1910 to prohibit the transportation of women for prostitution and human trafficking.CNN has reached out to prosecutors at the Southern District of New York for comment.Attorneys for Combs have previously accused the government of racism, which prosecutors strongly denied. One of Combs’ lawyers, Marc Agnifilo, told TMZ in an interview last year that the case was a “takedown of a successful Black man.”Prosecutors took issue with Agnifilo’s statements to TMZ, raising concerns in court.“He baselessly accused the government of engaging in a racist prosecution,” one of the prosecutors told the judge at an October hearing, adding that the accusations posed a “serious risk” for a fair trial.Combs’ attorneys argued that the statute has only been used to prosecute people of color, writing, “What was racist in its inception has often been racist in its operation.”The charge of transporting escorts across state lines for purposes of prostitution is based on a law, his defense said, which has “a long and troubling history as a statute with racist origins, used to target Black men and supposedly protect White women from them.”Combs is facing three federal charges, also including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is currently being held at a federal detention center in New York City.Attorneys for Combs did not provide any additional comment to CNN on Tuesday evening, in regards to their latest filing.

Attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs are moving to dismiss one of the charges the embattled music mogul is facing, arguing that the currently incarcerated Combs has been subject to a racist prosecution — which prosecutors have previously strongly denied.

“This case is unprecedented in many ways, but perhaps most notably, and most disturbingly, no White person has ever been the target of a remotely similar prosecution,” Combs’ defense argued in a new motion, filed Tuesday evening.

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“Mr. Combs has been singled out because he is a powerful Black man, and he is being prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished,” the filing continued.

Combs’ attorneys are asking the court to drop Count Three in the superseding indictment against Combs — transportation to engage in prostitution — arguing that there has “never been a similar” prosecution under The Mann Act.

The Mann Act, which was previously called the White-Slave Traffic Act, was passed in 1910 to prohibit the transportation of women for prostitution and human trafficking.

CNN has reached out to prosecutors at the Southern District of New York for comment.

Attorneys for Combs have previously accused the government of racism, which prosecutors strongly denied. One of Combs’ lawyers, Marc Agnifilo, told TMZ in an interview last year that the case was a “takedown of a successful Black man.”

Prosecutors took issue with Agnifilo’s statements to TMZ, raising concerns in court.

“He baselessly accused the government of engaging in a racist prosecution,” one of the prosecutors told the judge at an October hearing, adding that the accusations posed a “serious risk” for a fair trial.

Combs’ attorneys argued that the statute has only been used to prosecute people of color, writing, “What was racist in its inception has often been racist in its operation.”

The charge of transporting escorts across state lines for purposes of prostitution is based on a law, his defense said, which has “a long and troubling history as a statute with racist origins, used to target Black men and supposedly protect White women from them.”

Combs is facing three federal charges, also including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is currently being held at a federal detention center in New York City.

Attorneys for Combs did not provide any additional comment to CNN on Tuesday evening, in regards to their latest filing.