Sean "Diddy" Combs is due to appear in court on Thursday

[noumoe]

Sean "Diddy" Combs is due to appear in court on Thursday for a hearing over his bid to set aside a jury's verdict finding the hip-hop mogul guilty on prostitution charges but clearing him of more serious counts of sex trafficking and racketeering.

Combs, 55, faces up to 20 years in prison if the July 2 conviction stands. Jurors found he paid male escorts to travel across state lines to have sex with his girlfriends while he filmed and masturbated. He had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, which could have landed him in prison for life.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) in Manhattan federal court. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who is overseeing the case, has not said when he will rule on Combs' motion.

Combs' lawyers urged Subramanian in a July 30 court filing to set aside the verdict because Combs did not himself have sex with the prostitutes or his girlfriends during the days-long, drug-fueled sex marathons sometimes known as "Freak Offs."

https://www.reuters.com/legal/governmen ... 025-09-25/