President Donald Trump gave a head-scratching answer when asked if he would consider pardoning Sean “Diddy” Combs.
During an interview on Finnerty with Newsmax host Rob Finnerty on Friday (August 1), the 79-year-old president was asked point-blank if he would pardon the hip-hop mogul, who was recently convicted on two federal counts of transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution.
While he didn’t rule it out entirely, he made it clear that Combs' past hostility toward him could be a factor in his thinking.
“He was essentially, I guess, sort of half-innocent,” Trump said, referring to the rapper’s acquittal on the more serious sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.
“Still in jail or something, but he was celebrating a victory. But I guess it wasn’t as good of a victory," he added.
The president reflected on his history with Diddy, saying they were once “very friendly,” and he “got along with him great,” but added: “I didn’t know him well.”
The relationship soured after Trump launched his political career. “When I ran for office, he was very hostile,” Trump said. “It’s hard, you know? We’re human beings. And we don’t like to have things cloud our judgment, right?”
He continued, “When you knew someone and you were fine, and then you run for office, and he made some terrible statements … I don’t know. It makes it more difficult to do.”
Indeed, Combs has publicly criticized the 47th President over the years, including a 2020 interview with Charlamagne tha God in which he said: “White men like Trump need to be banished. That way of thinking is real dangerous.” In 2017, he told The Daily Beast, “We don’t really give a f*** about Trump," per Rolling Stone.
Still, Trump previously said he would be open to reviewing the facts of the case. “I would certainly look at the facts,” he told reporters in May. “I know people are thinking about it. People have been very close to asking.”
That behind-the-scenes lobbying effort has intensified in recent weeks, according to the outlet.
The 'I'll Be Missing You' rapper's associates began reaching out to Trump transition and administration officials soon after Trump’s re-election.
Three sources told the outlet that Combs’ allies have even offered large sums, reportedly in the mid-six figures, to political operatives with ties to Trump in hopes of securing a pardon.
But not everyone in Trump’s circle is on board, as some senior officials have expressed concern about granting leniency in such a high-profile case, particularly while the administration is still facing scrutiny over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Rolling Stone reported that several survivors are preparing to send a letter to the president, urging him not to issue a pardon. A draft of the letter, reviewed by the outlet, reads in part that “a pardon would not be justice" but a "devastating message to survivors everywhere: that our lives, our pain, and our truth are still negotiable".
.jpg_6LXho0?tr=w-216%2Cq-70%2Cf-webp)
Combs’ legal team is also pressing the issue through the courts. This week, his attorneys filed a 62-page motion asking a judge to either vacate his prostitution convictions or grant a new trial focused solely on those two counts.
They also filed a separate motion requesting that he be released on bail while awaiting sentencing.
However, prosecutors from the Southern District of New York hit back by filing their own motion, arguing that Combs should remain in custody until his sentencing, currently set for October 3.