President Donald Trump could hand Sean “Diddy” Combs a lifeline following the music mogul’s conviction earlier this month, according to a new report.
Deadline reported late Tuesday, July 29, that Trump is “seriously” considering pardoning Diddy, 55, citing a Trump administration source.
Us Weekly understands that the White House does not comment on potential pardons. Diddy’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump first mooted a potential pardon for Diddy in May after he issued pardons to reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley. “I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated, whether they like me or don’t like me, it wouldn’t have any impact on me,” he commented during a May 30 Oval Office press conference.
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Trump also discussed his personal relationship with the incarcerated musician. “He used to really like me a lot, but I think when I ran for politics … that relationship busted up, from what I read,” he said. “I don’t know — he didn’t tell me that, but I’d read some little bit nasty statements in the paper all of a sudden.”
Diddy was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution on July 2. The rapper was, however, cleared of three of the most egregious charges against him: two counts of sex trafficking and one count of racketeering conspiracy. (Diddy has maintained his innocence since his September 2024 arrest and denied all the charges against him.)
The Bad Boy Records founder is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, pending sentencing on October 3. He could face up to 20 years in prison less time already served.
On Tuesday, Diddy’s attorneys filed yet another motion asking Judge Arun Subramanian to let him out on bail as he awaits sentencing. His lawyers are requesting he is released on a $50 million bond.
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The motion said, in part, “Sean Combs should not be in jail for this conduct. In fact, he may be the only person currently in a United States jail for being any sort of john, and certainly the only person in jail for hiring adult male escorts for him and his girlfriend, when he did not even have sex with the escort himself.”
A pardon for Diddy is not without precedent, as Trump, 79, already wielded his presidential powers to pardon two other celebrities earlier this year: the Chrisleys.
In May, Trump issued pardons to Todd, 56, and Julie Chrisley, 52, following their 2022 convictions on charges including tax evasion, bank and wire fraud and conspiracy. (The former Chrisley Knows Best stars have maintained their innocence.)
Todd was initially sentenced to 12 years in prison and Julie received a seven-year sentence. The couple reported to their respective prisons in Pensacola, Florida, and Lexington, Kentucky, in January 2023. They were both released on May 28.
“It’s a terrible thing, but it’s a great thing, because your parents are going to be free and clean,” Trump told Todd and Julie’s daughter Savannah Chrisley via a phone call shared via X on May 27. “I hope we can do it by tomorrow. I don’t know them, but give them my regards. Wish them a good life.”
Trump said Todd and Julie received “pretty harsh treatment,” adding, “Congratulate your parents. I hear they’re terrific people. This should not have happened. … They have good children. You’re no longer children, but I’ll say it anyway. They have good children, don’t they?”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
