President Donald Trump revealed Monday that music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has asked for a presidential pardon following his recent conviction on prostitution-related charges.
“A lot of people have asked me for pardons,” Trump told reporters during an Oval Office press briefing. “I call him Puff Daddy — he has asked me for a pardon.”
A spokesperson for Combs declined to comment on Trump’s remarks.
Combs was sentenced last Friday to more than four years in federal prison after being convicted in July on two counts of transportation for the purpose of prostitution. He will receive credit for the 12 months already served at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest. The court also ordered him to pay a $500,000 fine.
Combs’ legal team, speaking to ABC News shortly after the sentencing, indicated they are preparing an appeal. They argue the sentence handed down by the judge was four times longer than what they had sought and relied heavily on allegations not proven in court.
“The jury made it very clear in their verdict — they acquitted him of the sex trafficking and RICO charges,” lead attorney Teny Geragos said. “Not guilty means not guilty.”
In a separate filing submitted Monday, Combs’ lawyers requested that he be allowed to serve his sentence at FCI Fort Dix, a low-security federal correctional facility in New Jersey. The prison houses approximately 4,000 inmates and offers access to RDAP — the Residential Drug Abuse Program — as well as educational and vocational training.
“In order to address drug abuse issues and to maximize family visitation and rehabilitative efforts, we request that the Court strongly recommend placement at FCI Fort Dix,” Geragos wrote.
Trump’s comments came after he was also asked whether he would consider a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Maxwell’s appeal challenging her sex trafficking conviction, leaving her 20-year sentence in place. The court did not provide an explanation for its decision.
