Key Insights
- Pardon Request: Donald Trump confirmed that he will not grant Diddy a pardon.
- Letter Existence: Diddy’s request was made through a letter, which was previously unreported.
- Legal Issues: Diddy is currently serving a four-year prison sentence related to prostitution charges.
- Trump’s Position: The White House has denied any consideration of commuting Diddy’s sentence.
Donald Trump has given a definitive answer on whether he’ll grant Diddy‘s request for a pardon — and it’s not good news for the Bad Boy boss.
In an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday (January 7), President Trump revealed that Puffy had “asked me for a pardon … through a letter.”
However, “Mr. Trump said he is not considering granting the request,” the publication reported. “Mr. Trump also indicated that he had no intention of pardoning several other high-profile people.”
The existence of the letter has not been previously reported, but last summer one of Diddy’s attorneys, Nicole Westmoreland, told CNN that “we’ve reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon.”
Months later, TMZ reported that Trump was considering granting clemency to Diddy, who is serving a four-year prison sentence on prostitution-related charges.
“The President is ‘vacillating’ on a commutation. We’re told some of the W.H. staff are urging Trump not to commute the sentence,” the outlet reported. “But, our source states the obvious — ‘Trump will do what he wants,’ and we’re told Trump could set Diddy free as early as this week.”
However, the White House denied this report, with an official telling the National News Desk that it was “fake news” that Trump was considering commuting Diddy’s sentence.
Despite once being social acquaintances, Trump previously indicated that he would not grant Diddy any favors in relation to his legal problems.
“I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great, and [he] seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well,” the president told the cable network Newsmax last year. “But when I ran for office, he was very hostile.”
Trump added that the rap mogul’s criticism of his presidential campaign would make it “more difficult” for him to pardon him.
In a 2020 interview with Charlamagne Tha God, Diddy said he believed that a “race war” would erupt if Trump was voted back into office for a second term.
He added: “White men like Trump need to be banished.”
