Diddy seeks Donald Trump’s pardon: Speaking in an interview with the New York Times, US President Donald Trump revealed that he received a letter from Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs asking for ‘pardon’. Diddy, a former music mogul, was convicted in 2025 for sex trafficking and racketeering. Trump said he was not inclined to grant the request. Trump also mentioned that he had no intention of pardoning many other high-profile people, when a reporter presented names of some prominent inmates to him, including Nicolás Maduro. The president also mentioned that the criticism surrounding Diddy makes it his pardon “a difficult thing to do”.
While the President did not release that letter to the media, it is being reported that he does not plan to grant clemency to the boy band founder. This comes as a larger discussion on Trump pardoning other high-profile individuals, including deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
Did Trump know Diddy?
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, once a celebrated hip-hop star, was convicted on two prostitution-related charges in July 2025. Also found to be involved in sex trafficking and conspiracy racketeering, he was given a 50-month sentence in October 2025.
However, this is not the first time Trump has expressed his thoughts on Diddy. When asked during a media interaction in May 2025 about his views on pardoning the musician for his crimes, Trump claimed that he hadn’t spoken to him in years, as per ABC News. Speaking to a reporter, the US President had said, “I haven’t seen him, I haven’t spoken to him for years.”
However, the reporter from the outlet reiterated that Trump had once referred to Combs as a friend in 2012. Replying to which, Trump said that the artist “used to really like me a lot,” but the relationship “busted up”. Knowing each other socially, the two were also photographed together in the late 90s. “I got along with him great. Seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile…It’s hard,” Trump had said.
Trump also gave a similar response to cable network Newsmax. He shared, “I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great, and seemed like a nice guy.” However, he added, “I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile.” It was only after the criticism of Trump’s presidency that the two parted ways.
It was attributed to Trump’s entry into the Presidential race in 2016. Trump had also opened up about the hostile and ‘nasty’ comments Diddy spoke about him during and ahead of his first time in the Oval Office. Referring to the fallout, Trump added, “I don’t know. I would certainly look at the facts,” of his pardon. “If I think somebody was mistreated, it wouldn’t matter whether they like me or don’t,” at the time,” concluded the US president.
This followed the claims of Trump calling Diddy ‘half innocent’, after he was arrested in the high-profile public trial. He made the comment to Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty after the 56-year-old was convicted last July, following his arrest in October.
Trump’s high-profile pardons
While Trump is not famously known to grant pardons to everyone, he did pardon the Honduran ex-president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was serving a 45-year sentence after being convicted of drug trafficking in November 2025. But, at the same time, he declined to grant pardons to disgraced crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence, and former Democratic senator Robert Menendez, who is serving an 11-year sentence for accepting bribes.
Speaking about the police officer, Derek Chauvin, arrested for the murder of George Floyd, Trump shared that he ‘hadn’t been asked’ about his pardon yet.