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Dec. 24 (UPI) — Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attorney filed an expedited federal appeal in seeking his immediate appeal from federal prison on the hip-hop mogul’s two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

The appeal was filed Tuesday with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City, seeking an acquittal or vacating his conviction and remand for resentencing.

In the 84-page appeal, attorney Alexandra A.E. Shapiro argued U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian “acted as the 13th juror” and found that Combs “coerced,” “exploited” and “forced” his girlfriends to have sex and led a criminal conspiracy, which “trumped the verdict.

The speedy appeal process was granted last month. The federal governor’s brief is due by Feb. 20 and Comb’s reply is due by March 13.

Combs, 56, is serving a 50-month prison sentence. He is now in a low-security prison in Fort Dix, N.J. He was moved there after being detained in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., since his arrest on Sept. 16, 2024.

On July 2, a jury in Manhattan convicted Combs after two days of deliberations and a six-week trial. He was found not guilty of one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.

Later that day, Subramanian denied his bail request because he said it would be impossible for him to prove he does not pose a danger.

The defense proposed travel restrictions, regular drug testing and a $1 million bond co-signed by himself, his mother, his sister and the mother of his oldest daughter.

Prosecutor Maurene Comey also opposed the request.

“There is serious, serious conduct here that will mandate a lengthy period of incarceration,” Comey said.

He was sentenced on Oct. 5, along with five years of supervised release after his prison term and a maximum fine of $500,000. Comb has an estimated $400 million net worth.

“There is a light at the end of the tunnel,” the judge said. “These letters, all those letters that I saw, show that you have a universe of people who love you. Let them lift you up now, just like you’ve lifted them up for so many years.”

His expected release date is May 25, 2028, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Shapiro wrote prosecutors failed to provide their case and noted girlfriends and third parties were adults who “willingly and enthusiastically” participated in so-called freak-offs, which are days-long, drug-fueled sexual encounters.

And the sentence was illegal because it was “draconian.”

She said the enhanced sentence violates his constitutional rights.

Shapiro also noted her client had already served 16 months of his sentence, which is the average one for what he was convicted of.

“If the court does not overturn Combs’ conviction, it should release him immediately and instruct the district court to resentence him only for the conduct of which he was convicted,” the filing reads.

This case isn’t Combs’ only legal situation with more than 70 civil lawsuits filed. In October, Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee announced he would represent 120 accusers.

The alleged victims include children, teens and adults. There are short-term and long-term romantic partners.

He has denied all of the allegations and claimed that security footage in which Combs is seen beating ex-R&B star Casandra “Cassie” Ventura Fin was altered. His ex-girlfriend testified during the trial.

During sentencing, he addressed the court after he submitted a four-page letter to the judge that included an apology to the victims.

Combs apologized to Fin and another ex-girlfriend, identified as “Jane.”

“I want to personally apologize again to Cassie Ventura for any harm or hurt that I caused to her, emotionally or physically. My actions were disgusting, shameful and sick,” Combs said.

Dec. 23 (UPI) — The federal government is suing Washington, D.C., to ease its gun-ownership laws, which are the strictest in the nation.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed the suit Monday in federal court seeking to declare the laws unconstitutional and prevent the District from enforcing them. The laws ban most semiautomatic rifles and other firearms from being registered with the police department. This makes any possession of those guns illegal. AK-47s and AR-15s are among those that are illegal. Those owning those guns can face misdemeanor charges and fines.

The action “underscores our ironclad commitment to protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “Washington, D.C.’s ban on some of America’s most popular firearms is an unconstitutional infringement on the Second Amendment — living in our nation’s capital should not preclude law-abiding citizens from exercising their fundamental constitutional right to keep and bear arms.”

The suit cites District of Columbia v. Heller, which was decided by the Supreme Court in 2008. Before Heller, the District made it illegal to carry unregistered firearms but it also banned the registration of handguns. The Heller decision said that people can have guns in their homes for self-defense.

After Heller, the District updated its gun laws and included a registry and training requirements. But it still makes assault rifles impossible to register.

The suit filed by the Justice Department argues the merit of the law.

“D.C.’s current semi-automatic firearms prohibition that bans many commonly used pistols, rifles or shotguns is based on little more than cosmetics, appearance, or the ability to attach accessories, and fails to take into account whether the prohibited weapon is ‘in common use today’ or that law-abiding citizens may use these weapons for lawful purposes protected by the Second Amendment. Therefore, the District’s restrictions lack legal basis,” the filing said.

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, a Democrat, said in a statement Monday, reported by the Washington Post, that the District would “vigorously defend our right to make decisions that keep our city safe.”

“Gun violence destroys families, upends communities, and threatens our collective sense of safety. MPD has saved lives by taking illegal guns off our streets — efforts that have been praised by our federal partners,” Bowser said. “It is irresponsible to take any steps that would lead to more, and deadlier, guns in our communities, especially semi-automatic rifles like AR-15s.”

Lawyers from Everytown Law, a gun safety organization, said the city’s gun bans are legal.

“The legal consensus is clear: assault weapon bans are constitutional. Since the Supreme Court’s rulings in Bruen and Rahimi, federal courts have repeatedly affirmed that these laws are consistent with the Second Amendment,” Bill Taylor, deputy director of Second Amendment litigation at Everytown Law, said in a statement. “Assault weapons are designed for mass devastation, and we look forward to supporting D.C. as it defends this critical common-sense safety measure.”

District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told prosecutors in August not to enforce felony charges for the city’s ban on openly carrying rifles and shotguns in public or the city’s ban on magazines that hold more than 10 bullets.