Trump says Diddy wrote from prison seeking pardon, but request is not being considered

Diddy should not be expecting a pardon from Donald Trump anytime soon.The US president revealed in an interview with The New York Times this week that he has no plans to pardon Sean Combs, who is currently serving a 50-month prison sentence after being convicted of federal prostitution charges. Trump said Diddy had written him a handwritten letter requesting a pardon, but he is not considering the appeal. Details of the letter were not disclosed, as White House officials referred questions to the president’s comments.

“[Diddy] asked me for a pardon,” Trump said. “Through a letter.”Combs is in the process of appealing both his conviction and sentence, which were handed down in October. He has remained in custody since September 2024 and is currently incarcerated at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey. Trump had previously disclosed in October that Diddy requested a pardon during an Oval Office interview.

“A lot of people have asked me for pardons,” Trump told reporters. “I call him Puff Daddy, [he] has asked me for a pardon.” Speaking to Newsmax in August, Trump said he once had a friendly relationship with Combs, but that it deteriorated after the music mogul publicly criticised him during the 2016 presidential campaign.“I got along with him great. Seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile,” Trump said.

The president added that Diddy’s past criticism made a potential pardon more difficult. “We’re human beings. We don’t like to have things cloud our judgment, right? But when you knew someone and you were fine and then you run for office and he made some terrible statements… it’s more difficult,” he said. Combs was arrested in September 2024 and charged with racketeering and sex trafficking in a wide-ranging indictment. He was acquitted of those major charges at trial in October but was convicted of federal prostitution offences.His legal team began the appeal process on Christmas Eve as the former Bad Boy Records boss continues to serve his 50-month sentence.

Source: https://www.billboard.com/