Lawyers for Sean 'Diddy' Combs labelled the prosecution against the hip-hop star as "sexist and puritanical" on Tuesday, saying nine recordings of sex acts considered important evidence in the case show only consensual sex between willing adults.
The lawyers submitted a letter to a Manhattan federal court judge asking that the recordings of elaborate sex performances that authorities say Combs orchestrated be turned over to defence lawyers for additional investigation. So far, they say, defence lawyers have only been allowed to temporarily view them twice in the last two months.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges lodged against him after his September arrest. He has remained incarcerated, awaiting a May 5 trial, after bail was rejected following bail hearings before three different judges.
A spokesperson for prosecutors declined to comment.
The defence submission Tuesday was similar to arguments at bail hearings where defence lawyers insisted that prosecutors had demonized sexual activity between consenting adults to create the case.
"Any fair-minded viewer of the videos will quickly conclude that the prosecution of Mr. Combs is both sexist and puritanical," the lawyers wrote. "It is sexist because the government's theory perpetuates stereotypes of female victimhood and lack of agency."
The indictment against Combs said the music mogul arranged sexual encounters between his victims and male sex workers that he called "Freak Offs" - defined in the indictment as "elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded."
Prosecutors said the encounters sometimes lasted days and involved multiple commercial sex workers, with Combs drugging participants to "keep the victims obedient and compliant." They said raids of Combs' Los Angeles and Miami homes produced supplies for the "Freak Offs," including drugs and over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.
Defence lawyers say the nine videos "depicting six unambiguously consensual sexual encounters" were provided to the government by lawyers for a woman identified in the indictment as "Victim-1," who was in a long-term relationship with Combs.
"In all six of these encounters," defence attorneys wrote, "Victim-1 is not only consenting; she is evidently happy, dominant, and completely in control."
They said the videos do not depict sex parties and there were no secret cameras, orgies, minors or other celebrities involved.
They wrote that there was no evidence of violence, coercion, threats, or manipulation and no indication that anyone was incapacitated or under the influence of drugs or excessive alcohol consumption.
"There is certainly no evidence of sex trafficking," they said.
The lawyers said the lighting on some videos was "very bad" and the images were "quite dark and grainy," requiring experts to enhance the quality of the audio and video and analyze metadata to determine when the videos were created or modified.
They said the government's view depends on the characterization of the sex performances as "dirty, disgusting, or inherently unsavoury" and shows that the government "seeks to police non-conforming sexual activity and that it assumes - despite all evidence to the contrary - that a woman's willing participation must have been coerced."
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