Diddy seeks to overturn Mann Act convictions at Manhattan hearing

Sean "Diddy" Combs returned to federal court in Manhattan on Thursday, September 25, seeking to undo two convictions under the Mann Act as prosecutors urged a judge to let the verdicts stand and move ahead with sentencing scheduled for October 3. The hearing on the defense motion to acquit or secure a new trial brought sharp disagreements over how the century-old statute should be applied and whether Combs' conduct amounted to prostitution or protected expression.

Combs was convicted in July on two counts tied to transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution and has been in federal custody since his arrest in September 2024. At the hearing, his attorneys argued the government misapplied the Mann Act, saying their client did not pay for sex in the conventional sense and instead paid to watch encounters that were often filmed. Defense lawyers characterized Combs as an "amateur director" of explicit recordings and invoked First Amendment protections, while also noting the law's long, controversial history and past abuses targeting Black men, immigrants and other marginalized groups.

Prosecutors countered that labels do not change the underlying facts. They told the...