{"id":54434,"date":"2025-08-02T07:17:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T07:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/54434\/"},"modified":"2025-08-02T07:17:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T07:17:07","slug":"donald-trump-weighs-in-on-possible-sean-diddy-combs-pardon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/54434\/","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump Weighs In on Possible Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Pardon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tDonald Trump<\/a> weighed in again on rumors of a possible presidential pardon for Sean Combs<\/a>, the hip-hop mogul convicted last month<\/a> on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, calling him \u201chalf-innocent\u201d but agreeing with a host who asked if it was \u201cmore likely a no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCombs was found not guilty on July 2 of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges. Yet each of the two prostitution counts could technically land him in prison<\/a> for up to 10 years when the mogul is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 3. (Legal experts, however, tell Rolling Stone they expect him to get much less.)<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWell, he was essentially, I guess, sort of half-innocent,\u201d Trump told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty Friday night. \u201c[He\u2019s] still in jail or something, but he was celebrating a victory. But I guess it wasn\u2019t as good of a victory.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tTrump and Combs have had an up-and-down relationship in the decades since they first met in the 1990s.\u00a0Over the years, the real-estate magnate has been spotted at a number of Combs\u2019 VIP parties and events in New York City, including the Bad Boy founder\u2019s blowout birthday bashes. Trump called Combs \u201ca good friend\u201d during a 2012 episode of\u00a0The Apprentice, while Combs called Trump \u201ca friend of mine\u201d in 2015, not long after Trump launched his first campaign.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut when asked about Trump in 2017, Combs told the Daily Beast, \u201cI think that to be honest, we don\u2019t really give a fuck about Trump, because [black people are] in the same fucked-up position. So that\u2019s not what we\u2019re on.\u201d Speaking to Charlamagne tha God<\/a> in 2020, Combs said, \u201cWhite men like Trump need to be banished. That way of thinking is real dangerous. This man literally threatened the lives of us and our families about going to vote \u2026 The number one priority is to get Trump out of office.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen asked about a possible pardon in May<\/a>, Trump said, \u201cI haven\u2019t seen him, I haven\u2019t spoken to him in years. He used to really like me a lot, but I think when I ran for politics<\/a> that relationship busted up \u2026 I read some little bit nasty statements in the paper all of a sudden.\u201d But he seemed at least somewhat sympathetic to Combs\u2019 plight,\u00a0telling reporters that he \u201cwould certainly look at the facts\u201d of the case. \u201cI know people are thinking about it,\u201d he added. \u201cPeople have been very close to asking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n

Q: Sean Diddy Combs. Would you consider pardoning him?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Well, he was essentially, I guess, sort of half innocent. Probably\u2014 I was very friendly with him but when I ran for office he was very hostile and it\u2019s hard. So, I don’t know, it’s more difficult. <\/p>\n

Q: More likely a no?\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/FrrzquR6qs<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Acyn (@Acyn) August 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tDuring Friday\u2019s interview, Trump recalled that he was \u201cvery friendly with him. I got along with him great, and [he] seemed like a nice guy. I didn\u2019t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile. It\u2019s hard, you know? We\u2019re human beings. And we don\u2019t 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\u2019t know \u2026. it makes it more difficult to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs Rolling Stone reported in May<\/a>, the mogul\u2019s associates began contacting people close to Trump shortly after he won the presidential election last November. During the presidential transition and in the opening months of Trump\u2019s second administration, several longtime friends and allies of Combs, who\u2019ve known the rapper for many years, began reaching out to some Trump transition and administration officials, as well as to others close to the president, two sources familiar with the matter and another person briefed on it told\u00a0Rolling Stone.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe small number of senior Trump officials who were aware of the talks expressed deep reservations about commuting a possible Combs sentence, given the severity of the charges. (A rep for Combs did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Friday\u2019s interview.)<\/p>\n

\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s unclear if Combs\u2019 acquittal on the most severe charges has changed the calculus among the president or anyone in his administration. As Rolling Stone reported on Thursday<\/a>, Combs\u2019 team has intensified their behind-the-scenes campaign in recent weeks, according to people in and out of the Trump administration. \u201cThe pleading has gotten bigger [this month],\u201d a Trump adviser says, referring to a conspicuous uptick in Combs allies\u2019 attempts to woo Team Trump.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the past few weeks, longtime Combs allies have offered to pay political operatives, lobbyists, and others with close ties to Trumpland and government officials large financial sums in exchange for help with a potential Trump pardon, three people familiar with the matter tell\u00a0Rolling Stone. One of the sources says the offer they were privy to was in the mid-six figures.<\/p>\n

\n\tMultiple Trump advisers still feel it would be a deeply unforced error to pardon Combs while the administration is still embroiled in a scandal over their handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\n\tThere are also ongoing talks among survivors to send a personal letter to Trump\u00a0urging him against the idea. Rolling Stone\u00a0has reviewed a draft copy of the letter, which admonishes Combs for attempting to \u201creclaim control\u201d and \u201crewrite history\u201d following his conviction on prostitution charges. A pardon, the draft adds, \u201cwould not be justice\u201d but a \u201cdevastating message to survivors everywhere: that our lives, our pain, and our truth are still negotiable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Thursday morning, lawyers for Combs submitted a 62-page filing<\/a> asking a judge to vacate his prostitution conviction and fully acquit him or grant him a new trial \u201cfocused solely\u201d on those two counts. Earlier this week, they filed a new motion<\/a> asking that Combs be released on bail. Southern District of New York prosecutors filed their own motion Thursday night arguing that Combs remain in jail until his sentencing.\u00a0<\/p>\n