President Donald Trump disclosed that Sean “Diddy” Combs formally submitted a written request seeking a presidential pardon.
In an interview with the New York Times, Trump shared how the disgraced entertainer asked the fellow media personality for a pardon “through a letter,” which he offered to show the Times reporters. (He did not.)
Unfortunately for the Bad Boy Records founder, Trump does not intend to grant the pardon any time soon. This news differs from Trump’s still vague, yet more optimistic take on the issue, first sparked months ago. Referring to Combs as his old nickname “Puff Daddy,” the president mentioned the request at an Oct. 6 press conference.
However, Deadline reports that Diddy’s former criticism of Trump during his first term severely dashed his chances of a pardon. Diddy’s self-proclaimed adversary, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, also urged Trump not to issue the pardon. Despite Combs’ legal team attempting to appeal to the president, Trump has shut down that option. For now.
“Still, despite outcry from the likes of Megyn Kelly and outrage from Combs’ enemy and Sean Combs: The Reckoning EP Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Trump never totally dropped the notion of a pardon, multiple sources told me,” wrote Dominic Patten of Deadline. “However, in the chaos of Trump 2.0, a deal was never sealed.
The move leaves Diddy to serve out the rest of his four-year sentence.
Following his headline-making indictment and trial, Diddy was found guilty of various counts, such as transportation to engage in prostitution, in July. The jury, however, acquitted him of the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
Despite the acquittals, the father of seven still received a prison sentence of 50 months. Combs currently sits in the Federal Correction Institution in New Jersey. If Trump sticks by his current decision to forego clemency, Diddy will remain behind bars until his expected release in May 2028.
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