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Diddy's legal team asks appeals court to overturn conviction, sentence ...
Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs were back in federal court on Thursday to appeal his prison sentence for his conviction on two prostitution-related charges. Combs, 56, is currently serving more than four years in prison and received a fine of US$500,000, the maximum possible, for his conviction on federal prostitution-related offences in October. He will also be under five years’ supervised release after serving his prison time.In July, Combs was found guilty of two counts of prostitution, including the transportation of his ex-girlfriend Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura to engage in prostitution. He was also found guilty of the transportation of another former girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym “Jane,” for the same purposes.The disgraced rap mogul’s legal team is currently trying to persuade federal appeals court judges that Combs was treated unfairly at the trial that sent him to prison, and that the First Amendment should win his freedom. Story continues below advertisement 3:39 Usher defends Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, says he has ‘nothing negative to say’ about him Combs’ lawyers say his conviction should be reversed, or he should at least be freed and resentenced to less time.In written arguments reviewed by The Associated Press, his lawyers repeated claims they made before the trial judge, including an assertion that Combs’ films of sexual encounters between his girlfriends and male sex workers amounted to “amateur pornography” and were protected by the First Amendment. The lawyers said the term “prostitution” should be interpreted narrowly to exclude what they portray as voyeuristic and expressive activity.They further argued that his sentence was “too harsh,” and said the trial judge wrongly based it in part on a conclusion that the crimes involved fraud and coercion and that Combs was a leader or organizer of criminal activity. Get breaking National news Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story. The Bad Boy Records founder was acquitted in July of the top charges: racketeering and sex trafficking. The defence won three acquittals after he was found not guilty of running a criminal enterprise and two counts of sex trafficking. Story continues below advertisement Prosecutors oppose the arguments and said the sentence was fair. They also said that Combs’ recordings don’t make his case a free speech issue.They said that if Combs was right in claiming that “creative,” “elaborate” and “highly st...
Federal appeals court hears arguments about overturning Sean 'Diddy ...
A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appeared skeptical on Thursday of Sean Combs' argument that his prison sentence should be reduced because the judge unlawfully punished Combs as if he had been found guilty of more serious crimes.After a seven-week trial last year in Manhattan federal court, jurors acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking but convicted him of two lesser counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, centering on allegations of drug-fueled, days-long sex romps called "freak offs" or "hotel nights" with former girlfriends and male sex workers.Combs is serving a four-year prison sentence, which defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro said treats him as if he had been convicted of the more serious counts. She urged the appeals court to reduce the sentence "to ensure that not guilty really means not guilty."The appellate judges said Thursday it is constitutional for a sentencing judge to consider all of Combs' conduct in establishing a sentence. "We have two women who were plied with drugs to participate in this, one of whom became an opioid addict, so doesn't that support the reasonableness of this?" Judge M. Miller Baker asked.The same judge, however, questioned prosecutors over whether the judge threw too heavy a book at Combs even though the jury did not find he coerced women into sex."The Mann Act was just a sideshow," Baker said, referring to the two counts of conviction. "Now you want us to rely us on all this acquitted conduct?"Sean "Diddy" Combs attends the 2022 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena, May 15, 2022, in Las Vegas.Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesProsecutor Christy Slavik pointed to a flight from the Cannes Film Festival during which Combs allegedly threatened to release explicit videos of then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura before asking her for a freak off."I just felt trapped. Like, how do you get out of this situation?" Ventura testified at trial. "He would put these videos out. He would ruin me, embarrass me. Just make me out to be someone that I'm not."She said she participated in the freak off shortly after they landed."It's what he's asking for," Slavik told the appellate judges. "The threats are not followed by a request to go to dinner, a request to ask Cassie to do the dishes. Those threats are followed by a demand for a freak off."Each side was allotted ten minutes each during Thursday's proceedings. Oral arguments lasted two hours.Combs, who is incarcerated at...
Sean Combs' Attorney Argues For Reduced Sentence At Appeal Hearing
A three-judge panel heard arguments from Sean "Diddy' Combs attorney that his sentence should be reduced, arguing that a lower court's punishment factored in alleged crimes that he was ...
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Lawyers Appeal His Conviction With First Amendment ...
Sean "Diddy" Combs' lawyers are poised to try to persuade federal appeals court judges that the hip-hop mogul was treated unfairly at a trial last year that sent him to prison on ...
