Donald Trump Reveals He Won’t Grant Diddy’s Pardon Request
After teasing a possible pardon for the disgraced music mogul, Donald Trump has confirmed that he will not be getting Sean “Diddy” Combs out of prison early.
During a long sit-down with New York Times reporters on January 7, the president received the names of several high-profile people who are in prison, including the Bad Boy founder, and asked if he would consider pardons for them. Combs reportedly wrote a letter seeking clemency, though Trump confirmed he is not considering granting Diddy's request.
After revealing to reporters that Combs “asked for my forgiveness … through a letter,” he was asked when the alleged communication was sent. Trump replied, “Oh, do you want to see that letter?” but did not bring it forward, per USA Today.
Back in October, Trump previously revealed to reporters in the Oval Office that the rapper and producer, who is appealing both his sentence and his conviction as he serves a 50-month prison sentence in New Jersey, had asked for a pardon. It is not clear whether Combs sent the president any new communications since those comments.
In a statement dated October 21 to USA TodayA White House spokesman said there is “zero truth” to a report that the president was considering commuting Combs' sentence.
“The president, not anonymous sources, is the final decision maker on pardons and commutations,” the official said.
In an earlier interview, Trump opened up about having a sour relationship with Diddy, told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty in an Aug. 1 interview that Combs' “hostile” comments during Trump's first presidential term made it “harder” to consider a pardon.
Unsurprisingly, many people were happy to hear that Diddy will remain in prison, especially his longtime nemesis, 50 Cent. The rapper — who executive produced the four-part Netflix docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning — even took credit for Trump's reluctance to pardon him in a triumphant post on Instagram.
Posting a screenshot of a headline about Trump “not considering” a pardon, 50 enraged in his caption: “What part of no do you not understand … I told him what you said he was surprised, you said some very nasty things about him.”
He went on to delete the post, though it's unclear why.
