Diddy shouldn’t be expecting a pardon from Donald Trump anytime soon.
The president revealed in an interview with The New York Times this week that he had no plans to pardon Sean Combs, who’s serving a 50-month sentence in prison after being convicted of federal prostitution charges.
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Trump said Diddy had penned him a handwritten letter seeking a pardon, but he’s not considering the request. Details of the letter remain unknown, as White House officials deferred to Trump’s comments when asked to produce a copy of the note. “[Diddy] asked me for a pardon,” he said. “Through a letter.”
Diddy is currently in the midst of appealing his conviction and 50-month sentence, which came down in October. He’s remained behind bars since September 2024 and is currently imprisoned at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey.
Trump previously revealed in October that Diddy had asked for a pardon during an interview at the Oval Office. “A lot of people have asked me for pardons,” Trump said to reporters inside the White House. “I call him Puff Daddy, [he] has asked me for a pardon.”
Speaking to Newsmax in August, Trump explained that he had a friendly relationship with Diddy at one time, which soured when Combs criticized him while he was running for office in 2016. “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 also revealed that Diddy’s criticism of him in the past has made a potential pardon “more difficult” for him to execute. “We’re human beings,” he added. “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. So, I don’t know. It’s more difficult. Makes it more, I’m being honest, makes it more difficult to do.”
Combs was arrested in September 2024 and charged with racketeering and sex trafficking in a sprawling indictment. He was acquitted of both heavy charges at trial in October, but was ultimately convicted of federal prostitution.
Diddy’s legal team kicked off his appeal attempt on Christmas Eve as the disgraced Bad Boy mogul continues to serve a 50-month sentence.