Sean “Diddy” Combs’ hopes for an early launch from jail have been firmly dashed.
President Donald Trump confirmed he won’t take into account pardoning the music mogul, who was sentenced to 4 years in federal jail in October 2025 after being convicted on two prostitution-related prices. In an interview with The New York Instances printed Thursday, January 8, Trump revealed that Combs personally reached out to him in hopes of receiving clemency — however to no avail.
“He requested me for a pardon,” Trump stated, referring to a letter Combs despatched requesting reduction. The president made it clear he has no intention of granting one.
Combs’ conviction adopted a intently watched trial that put the once-untouchable hip-hop mogul beneath intense scrutiny. Prosecutors relied closely on testimony from Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, Combs’ ex-girlfriend, who described being subjected to what she referred to as “freak-offs” — voyeuristic, drug-fueled intercourse events involving male escorts. Ventura testified that the experiences triggered her deep humiliation and emotional misery.
Combs’ authorized staff maintained all through the trial that every one sexual encounters have been consensual. The Unhealthy Boy Information founder didn’t testify in his personal protection. Finally, a jury acquitted Combs of essentially the most critical prices, together with intercourse trafficking and racketeering, however discovered him responsible on the prostitution counts that led to his jail sentence.
The decision marked a surprising fall for Combs, who has been a dominant power in hip-hop since founding Unhealthy Boy Information in 1993 beneath monikers like Puff Daddy and P. Diddy. In recent times, his public picture has unraveled amid a wave of civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse — allegations he has repeatedly denied.
Federal scrutiny intensified in March 2024, when brokers raided Combs’ properties in Los Angeles and Miami. He was arrested in Manhattan six months later following a grand jury indictment, setting the stage for the high-profile case.
Trump’s refusal to pardon Combs got here as a part of a broader dialogue about clemency. Throughout the identical interview, the president stated he wouldn’t subject pardons to a number of different controversial figures, together with former Venezuelan chief Nicolás Maduro, disgraced cryptocurrency government Sam Bankman-Fried and former Democratic senator Robert Menendez.
Requested immediately about Maduro — who was just lately seized by U.S. forces and faces drug trafficking prices — Trump responded, “No, I don’t see that.” He additionally stated he had no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried, who’s serving a 25-year sentence for fraud, or Menendez, who’s serving 11 years for bribery and obstruction.
When questioned about the opportunity of pardoning Derek Chauvin, the previous Minneapolis police officer convicted within the 2020 homicide of George Floyd, Trump replied, “I haven’t been requested about it.”
Whereas Trump has beforehand granted clemency to high-profile figures — together with Todd and Julie Chrisley, Lil Wayne and Kodak Black — it seems Combs won’t be becoming a member of that checklist. On the day of his inauguration, Trump additionally pardoned greater than 1,500 people convicted of or charged in reference to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, together with a number of political loyalists within the weeks that adopted.
