Diddy Trial

Diddy's freedom is still up in the air ... but, he left his family with an encouraging message after his acquittal hearing today -- showering them with love and praise.

After the rapper's hearing to get his two Mann Act convictions thrown out ended, we're told he turned to the pews behind him -- full of his family including his mother, six of his children and more -- and told them he loves them, and they all make him super proud.

He specifically turned to his mom, Janice, blew her a kiss and told her she's beautiful ... before thanking everyone once again for showing up to support him.

Diddy's hearing on his motion to get the Mann Act charges thrown out started just a short time ago ... and, his lawyers are taking their argument from legal motions to real life -- firing off in a New York City courtroom.

The rapper's legal team -- led by Marc Agnifilo -- kicked off their argument by repeating to the judge what they previously stated in legal papers ... prostitution means one person paying to have sex with another person. They insist it doesn't refer to someone who pays to watch two people have sex, like Diddy did.

However, prosecutors responded by pointing out Diddy wasn't just going somewhere and sitting in a booth to watch two people get it on ... they say he reimbursed his ex-girlfriends for arranging the sexual encounters and derived sexual gratification himself from watching.

Diddy's lawyers showed up looking confident at his acquittal hearing Thursday ... while his family appeared hopeful as they made their way into the courtroom.

The music mogul's legal team -- led by Marc Agnifilo and Alexandra Shapiro -- arrived in full force ... armored in their sleek suits, bags full of legal briefs at a federal courthouse in NYC. Agnifilo told the assembled press he's missed them since Diddy was found guilty on two of five federal charges in July ... while another attorney, Jason Driscoll, just smiled when asked questions about how he's feeling about today.

Diddy's family showed up a short time later ... including Chance Combs and her mother, Sarah Chapman, Diddy's twins Jessie and D'Lila and Diddy's mom Janice -- all dressed to the nines in various black outfits. Christian Combs, Quincy Brown, Justin Combs and Raven Tracy arrived shortly after.

Sean "Diddy" Combs is getting another bite at the apple ... his attorneys will be in court today arguing to overturn his conviction on 2 federal counts of the Mann Act.

Diddy's legal team is asking Judge Arun Subramanian to change Diddy's Mann Act conviction to an acquittal or give him a new trial. Federal prosecutors are opposed to both.

As you know, the Mann Act prohibits the transportation of individuals across state lines for the purposes of prostitution.

Sean "Diddy" Combs is using his time in jail to teach his fellow inmates business skills ... and the men who picked his brain are singing his praises to the judge who is set to hand down his sentence next week.

Diddy's legal team is giving Judge Arun Subramanian more legal homework in the form of additional support letters from dozens of men who are locked up with Diddy at MDC Brooklyn.

In the letters, included in a legal filing obtained by TMZ, the inmates say they took the Bad Boy Records founder's "Free Game With Diddy" course behind bars and learned a lot.

Sean "Diddy" Combs is a great father and son who gives back to his community ... at least that's what his family, friends and exes are telling the judge who is set to decide his fate.

Diddy's legal team gave Judge Arun Subramanian a mountain of legal homework in a massive filing late Monday night ... and the trove of documents includes more than 75 letters of support.

The Bad Boy founder's mother, Janice Combs, his six eldest kids and a handful of exes, including rapper Yung Miami, spoke highly of Diddy in their letters to the judge in an effort to secure a lighter sentence next month following his conviction on prostitution charges.

Sean "Diddy" Combs' army of attorneys is laying out all the reasons why they say he should not have the book thrown at him when a judge sentences him in his criminal case.

Diddy's defense team -- spearheaded by Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos -- just filed a sentencing packet for the court and prosecution, where they advocate for a more lenient sentence.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Diddy says the sentencing guidelines for his conviction on 2 counts of the Mann Act is no more than 6-to-12 months in prison on each count, which accurately reflects the seriousness of the offenses laid out at his federal trial in NYC.

Diddy's son Christian "King" Combs says making music was the best way to cope with his dad's sex-trafficking case, as well as leaning on his family foundation.

On Thursday, King Combs released the somber music video for his Kanye West and Stevie J-produced "Lonely Roads" track ... the opening song from the EP he released on the cusp of Diddy being found guilty on two violations of the Mann Act, while dodging the most major charges he had been facing.

The visual opens with an image of the late Kim Porter and shows Christian interacting with his siblings as he wrestles with the void his dad left by being absent from the house.

Diddy's twin daughters are ecstatic for their first NYFW as full-blown adults ... judging from their progress, dad would be proud!!!

Jessie and D’Lila linked up with TMZ in NYC on Monday and surprisingly, they were completely at ease -- the fashion world is their element!!!

They tell us they plan on closing out New York Fashion Week in style with their first runway walk ... and the strut is in their DNA, as they didn't even hire any modeling coaches whatsoever.

Maurene Comey, the lead prosecutor in the Diddy federal criminal case, is suing the U.S. government -- and specifically President Donald Trump -- to reclaim her position after getting fired by 47's Department of Justice, according to court documents.

Comey claims in the docs she wants her job back because she was canned unlawfully and her firing was a violation of the U.S. Constitution's separation of powers.

In the docs, Comey lists a bunch of high-profile defendants she's suing, including The Office of the President, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the DOJ.

Diddy's missing some of his kids' milestone moments while he sits in a New York City detention center ... 'cause they took over a fashion show in L.A. while their father fights for freedom.

The famous brood pulled up to AVALON Hollywood & Bardot -- a historic nightclub in the City of Angels -- Thursday night for Ellaé Lisqué’s 10-year anniversary show.

Christian Combs posed on the red carpet while holding his sister, Love, who turns 3 next month. He pointed to the cameras on the carpet for his sis to look at.

Diddy is firing back at federal prosecutors who are opposed to throwing out his conviction on Mann Act charges in his criminal case ... he says Uncle Sam is using the wrong definition of prostitution to prosecute him under the Mann Act, and says he deserves, at minimum, a new trial.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Diddy's legal team take shots at the feds as they try to make the case for Judge Arun Subramanian to change Diddy's Mann Act conviction to an acquittal or give him a new trial.

Diddy says prosecutors are using the modern definition of "prostitution" to apply the Mann Act, a federal law that was enacted way back in 1910 ... when it was also known as the White Slave Traffic Act.

Kid Cudi just announced he's stepping back from making music after the lowest chart debut of his career -- but rapper Consequence DGAF and is calling out his former GOOD Music collaborator in defense of Kanye West and all things integrity!!!

On Tuesday, Consequence previewed his new track featuring footage of Kid Cudi leaving Diddy's RICO trial from May, after The Man on the Moon testified for his ex-girlfriend Cassie.

Consequence raps on the track "We about to blow like Kid Cudi's car ..." a reference to the Porsche he suspected Diddy had bombed with a Molotov cocktail after the love triangle started to become a pair.

While Diddy's sitting in jail awaiting sentencing in his federal criminal case ... he can celebrate a win in a civil lawsuit filed by a guy who claimed the mogul drugged him and sexually assaulted him in a nightclub.

The lawsuit was filed back in February, and the plaintiff said he was an up-and-coming 23-year-old artist in 2015 when he scored a gig at an L.A. nightclub ... where Diddy was in attendance.

The alleged details sound like several other Diddy lawsuits -- the John Doe plaintiff claimed he'd been given a drink, fell unconscious and woke up to Diddy having "unwanted sexual contact" with him. In the lawsuit, filed by attorney Tony Buzbee, Doe also claimed Diddy threatened his future career if he resisted.

Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan are considering taking legal action against one Diddy accuser after they were named in a suit ... which has since been thrown out.

We caught up with the powerhouse couple in New York City this week, where both Gloria and Emilio separately suggested to TMZ that they were thinking about suing after a man name dropped them -- and their Miami home -- in human trafficking claims against the Bad Boy Records founder.

Federal prosecutors are calling BS on Diddy's attempt to throw out his conviction on Mann Act charges in his criminal case.

Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York filed new legal docs Wednesday, torching Diddy's motion to get his conviction on 2 counts of the Mann Act overturned or, if not, getting a new trial.  As you know, the Mann Act prohibits the transportation of individuals across state lines for the purposes of prostitution.

Diddy's lawyers previously pointed out he made ZERO dollars off prostitution and insist the Mann Act is usually designed for going after people running sex rings.

They also say Diddy never had sex with the male sex workers, and never directly arranged for their transportation, claiming he was merely a voyeur who enjoyed recording his ex-girlfriends having sex.