ToplineLawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs, the rap mogul who is serving a 50-month sentence in federal prison for his conviction on prostitution charges, are heading to a federal appeals court Thursday to push for his release, arguing he was wrongly convicted and that the court imposed too harsh a sentence.Sean "Diddy" Combs was sentenced to 50 months in prison for two Mann Act convictions. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)Getty ImagesKey FactsCombs’ lawyers are slated to appear at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday to push for the musician to be released from prison immediately and to overturn his conviction on two counts of the Mann Act, which outlaws transportation to engage in prostitution.Combs will not be present in court, the rapper’s publicist Juda Engelmayer told Forbes.The Thursday hearing will involve oral arguments from both Combs’ lawyers and the government, which has argued the sentencing was fair and that Combs’ appeal is “meritless.”Combs’ federal trial ended in a split verdict last summer, with a jury finding him guilty on the Mann Act charges but not guilty of more serious offenses of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.During his trial, prosecutors argued Combs violated the Mann Act by transporting his former girlfriends and sex workers across state lines for “freak off” sex performances.What Is Combs Arguing In His Appeal?Combs’ lawyers are pushing for his convictions on the Mann Act charges to be reversed, arguing the Mann Act conviction is inappropriate because Combs’ “freak offs” were choreographed performances that he filmed to create First Amendment-protected amateur pornography. The Mann Act outlaws the transportation of an individual “in interstate or foreign commerce” for prostitution, but Combs’ lawyers argued in a court filing he had “no commercial interest in the activity” and that all interstate travel was for consensual sex. Combs’ lawyers are also arguing Judge Arun Subramanian, who presided over his trial in Manhattan federal court, improperly imposed a harsh sentence unusual for violations of the Mann Act. His lawyers said in a filing typical sentences for Mann Act violations are around 15 months, whereas Combs received a sentence more than three times as long. “He sits in prison today, serving a 50-month sentence, because the district judge acted as a thirteenth juror,” Combs’ lawyers wrote in a court filing. His lawyers argued Subramanian violated U.S. Sentencing Commission guidelines by considering conduct relevant to Combs’ acquitted charges in his sentence. Combs’ lawyers asked the court to overturn the conviction and release him from prison, or to at least resentence him based solely on the conduct relevant to his Mann Act charges.What Is The Government Arguing?Lawyers representing the government argued in a court filing the judge issued a fair sentence because he “properly considered the aggravated manner in which Combs carried out his Mann Act offenses and harmed his victims.” The government cited Subramanian’s remarks during Combs’ sentencing, in which he said he considered the “severity of the conduct at issue,” which involved violence and drugs, and that Combs abused his victims “physically, emotionally, and psychologically.” The government’s lawyers also rebuffed Combs’ argument that he was creating First Amendment-protected porn in a court filing. “Combs’s later viewing and occasional filming of the sex cannot bring his conduct within the purview of the First Amendment,” the lawyers wrote, noting he hired and transported commercial sex workers “for his own sexual gratification, sometimes directly participating in the sex acts.”TangentCombs’ appeal is one of a few ways he is trying to reduce his prison sentence. He also enrolled in a prison sobriety program, which Engelmayer said could reduce his sentence by as much as one year. When Is Combs Getting Out Of Prison?Combs is scheduled to be released on April 15, 2028. His release date was moved up by 10 days last week. Combs is imprisoned at Fort Dix, a large, low-security prison in southern New Jersey.Further ReadingSean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Life In Prison: Enrolls In Sobriety Program, Teaches Course On Entrepreneurship (Forbes)