Trump Denies Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Request for Pardon

Sean “Diddy” Combs, currently serving a four-year prison sentence for prostitution-related offenses, requested a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. However, the former US president has made it clear that he does not intend to grant clemency to the music mogul.

In an interview with The New York Times published Thursday, Trump also stated that he has no plans to issue pardons to several other high-profile figures, including deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Combs, 56, was convicted in July last year on two counts of transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution. He was acquitted of the more serious charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering.

Trump told The Times that Combs had submitted a pardon request in writing, but he was not inclined to approve it. Regarding Maduro, who was captured by US authorities over the weekend and is facing drug trafficking charges, Trump simply said, “No, I don’t see that.”

In contrast, Trump did issue a pardon in November to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was serving a 45-year sentence following a drug trafficking conviction.

Trump also indicated he has no plans to pardon disgraced crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried, serving a 25-year prison sentence, or former Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, who is serving an 11-year sentence for bribery.

When asked about Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted for the 2020 murder of George Floyd, Trump responded, “I haven’t been asked about it.”

On the day of his inauguration, Trump pardoned over 1,500 individuals linked to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack and has since granted clemency to numerous other loyalists.