Sean “Diddy” Combs is currently waiting to be sentenced following the conclusion of his sex-trafficking trial. While he waits for the judge to deliver that decision, Combs remains behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center, which is located in Brooklyn. At the same time, there’s been much discussion about what the 55-year-old ex-mogul’s legal fate will be. Legal analysts have also been discussing whether U.S. President Donald Trump might pardon the rapper. Now, POTUS himself is addressing that possibility.
President Trump pardoned several individuals earlier this year, and a few public figures were among those granted clemency. Most notably, Todd and Julie Chrisley were pardoned years after they were found guilty of bank fraud, tax evasion and more. The president was recently interviewed by Newsmax and, during a portion of the conversation (which was shared on X), he was asked about possibly pardoning Diddy. While Trump provided an assortment of thoughts, he also mentioned one aspect of the situation that gives him pause:
Well, he was essentially, I guess sort of, half-innocent. I don’t know what they do, he’s still in jail or something. He was celebrating a victory but I guess it wasn’t as good of a victory. Probably — You know, I was very friendly with him, I got along with him great, [he] seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well, but when I ran for office, he was very hostile.
Combs shared unflattering comments about Trump when decided to run for his first presidential term years ago. Rapper 50 Cent alluded to those remarks when he said he’d do everything in his power to keep Diddy from being pardoned by Trump.
The New York Post, Trump said during a June press conference at the Oval Office that he hadn’t been watching the case “too closely.” At the time, he also said he would need to “look at what’s happening.” During his recent chat about Diddy’s situation, the president went on to share mixed feelings about handing out a pardon and explained why this is a “difficult” situation for him:
Yeah, and it’s hard. You know, like you, we’re human beings, and we don’t like to have things cloud our judgement, 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… I’m being honest, it makes it more difficult to do.
Interviewer Rob Finnerty then directly asked President Trump whether it would be “more likely a no” on a pardon for Sean Combs, and the president responded with, “I’d say so.” These comments come weeks after Combs received a mixed verdict, which saw him found guilty on two counts of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs was acquitted, however, on the two more serious charges, which were racketeering (RICO) and sex trafficking.
As Diddy remains in prison, his legal team is arguing for his release, even evoking the star’s reported “swinger” lifestyle while making their case. What the lawyers are proposing is a $50 million bail package that would allow the “Hello Good Morning” performer to await sentencing in his Miami mansion. As of this writing, that package has not been approved. Diddy’s sentencing is set to take place on October 3 and, based on President Trump’s comments, he doesn’t seem so inclined on pardoning the rapper down the road.