Sean 'Diddy' Combs case: Judge rejects defense bid to overturn prostitution convictions

A Manhattan federal judge rejected Sean "Diddy" Combs’ effort to overturn his July conviction on two counts of prostitution-related charges, two days before he is scheduled to be sentenced.

A jury had cleared Combs of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking two former girlfriends, but convicted him on two counts of transporting male escorts across state and international lines for the purpose of prostitution.

Prosecutors charged the Bad Boy Records founder had used his multimillion-dollar business empire to fund and support his illicit sexual behavior. His former girlfriends, staff and several male escorts testified Combs would rent luxury hotel suites to conduct dayslong, drug-fueled sex binges, which he dubbed "freak-offs," during which he would watch the men have sex with his romantic partners.

Lawyers for Combs asked the judge to overturn the conviction, arguing their client was protected under the First Amendment because he video-recorded many of the sessions. The defense attorneys called it "commercial voyeurism," equating it to a Times Square peep show in which the person paying does not participate in the sex. The lawyers also argued the federal law, known as the Mann Act, was misapplied by federal prosecutors because it’s more often used against pimps and those seeking financial gain through prostitution. In Combs’ case, he was doing it for personal gratification, they argued.

District Court Judge Arun Subramanian rejected all of these rationales for dropping the case, saying the court could not "wholly usurp" the jury’s role without weighing the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses.

"Combs fails to show that his conviction implicates any right or liberty interest protected by the First Amendment," the judge wrote in his decision.

Citing a prior federal court decision, Subramanian said, "at some point, it must certainly be true that otherwise illegal conduct is not made legal by being filmed."

The judge also noted trial testimony from the escorts in which both Combs and the men questioned each other at times about being in law enforcement, showing he believed he was engaging in illegal activity.

The judge also addressed the issue of prostitution in which the paying party does not have sex in the exchange.

Subramanian pointed to Wisconsin case law that found a businessman who pays a brothel for his client to have sex is still engaging in prostitution.

"The government proved its case many times over," the judge wrote, in denying the request for a new trial.

On Tuesday, prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Combs to 11½ years in federal prison for his conviction, saying he lacks any remorse for his behavior.

Federal probation officials have recommended 6 years behind bars, and defense attorneys requested 14 months, meaning he would be released in November after already serving a little more than a year.

Prosecutors have asked Subramanian to allow Combs’ former personal assistant, who testified under the name "Mia," to give a victim impact statement at Friday's hearing, despite the fact she was not a victim of the crimes the rap star was convicted of.

They also submitted a two-page letter Mia wrote, asking the judge to hand down a sufficient sentence.

"The defendant’s wealth, power, and fame should not place him above the law. These forces have shielded him for too long. I ask you to deliver a sentence that reflects the full measure of harm that he has caused: the years of coercion, financial abuse, humiliation, physical and sexual violence, and the profound trauma that he has inflicted as a result," she wrote.

"I ask you to deliver a sentence that takes into account the ongoing danger my abuser poses to me and to others. A sentence that honors the truth, the pain, and the lives that have been destroyed. A sentence that gives us hope, protection, and justice," the letter said.