FORMER music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs will not be receiving a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, the former President has indicated. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Trump dismissed suggestions that he would intervene on behalf of the Bad Boy Records founder.
During the extensive January 8 interview, Trump revealed that Combs had “asked me for a pardon” in a letter. When pressed about the written request, he asked, “Oh, would you like to see that letter?” but did not produce it, adding that he was not considering granting the pardon.
This is not the first time Trump has publicly acknowledged Combs’ request.
AFP cited that, in October 2025, following Combs’ conviction, he told reporters at a press conference,
“A lot of people have asked me for pardons. I call him Puff Daddy, [he] has asked me for a pardon.”
Combs, who was convicted in July 2025 of transporting people across state lines for prostitution-related offences, was sentenced in October to nearly four years in prison and fined $500,000.
TMZ later reported that Combs had been boasting to fellow inmates that he expected Trump to issue a pardon in early 2026.
The two men first became acquainted during Trump’s initial presidential campaign, though the former President suggested that their relationship deteriorated after Combs publicly criticised his second term.
“I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great, and [he] seemed like a nice guy,” Trump told Newsmax in August. “I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile.”
Trump added, “We’re human beings, right? And 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.”
Combs is currently appealing his 50-month sentence. His lawyers argue that the judge treated him as though he had committed sex trafficking, even though the jury only convicted him of transporting women for sex without coercion. He has been granted an expedited appeal schedule, with hearings provisionally set for April 2026. - January 9, 2025
