Sean “Diddy” Combs has officially launched a bid to overturn his conviction and four-year prison sentence, filing a notice of appeal to the Federal District Court in New York on Monday. The move sends the rapper and music mogul’s case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which reviews major federal cases from New York and beyond.
A jury in July found Combs guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, ending an eight-week trial that included testimony from 34 prosecution witnesses. He was acquitted of the more serious racketeering and sex-trafficking charges. On Oct. 3, Judge Arun Subramanian handed down a 50-month sentence, a $500,000 fine — the maximum permitted — and five years of supervised release.
This appeal notice doesn’t detail Combs’ legal strategy — more comprehensive papers from the defense are expected soon — but his lawyers have made their playbook clear. The defense previously argued that the Mann Act, the 1910 law under which Combs was convicted, should not have applied to his case. The statute, originally known as the White-Slave Traffic Act, was historically used to target interracial relationships, a legacy the defense described as “an embarrassment to the United States of America” during a post-trial hearing. The defense is also expected to revive its earlier argument that Combs’ recordings of his so-called “freak-offs” fall under First Amendment protections for amateur pornography. Judge Subramanian dismissed this claim when he denied Combs a new trial.
The appeal could take months or longer, and Combs is expected to serve much of his sentence while the Second Circuit reviews the case. He remains at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where he has already been credited for approximately a year served.
Combs’ attorneys told NBC News they have been seeking a pardon for him. TMZ reported that Donald Trump was “vacillating on a commutation,” though a White House official refuted the claim: “The President, not anonymous sources, is the final decider on pardons and commutations.” (“The White House Communications Office is saying our story is not true,” responded TMZ. “We stand by our story. Our story is accurate.”)
Trump addressed the subject himself during an Aug. 1 interview with Newsmax. “I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great and seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well,” Trump said, adding that Combs had been “very hostile” when he ran for office.
When pressed on whether he intended to deny Combs a pardon, Trump said, “I would say so.”
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