"Serious consideration" Trump considers pardon for scandalous rapper P. Diddy

Sven Ziegler

31.7.2025

Sean Combs' lawyers are seeking his release from prison. (archive image)
Sean Combs' lawyers are seeking his release from prison. (archive image)
Mark Von Holden/Invision via AP/dpa

He was convicted of sexual offenses - now Donald Trump of all people could help rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs to freedom. According to insiders in the White House, requests from the music mogul's entourage are being "seriously considered".

No time? blue News summarizes for you

  • Sean "Diddy" Combs was found partially guilty in a sex trafficking trial at the beginning of July.
  • According to media reports, the White House is looking into a possible pardon.
  • Trump and Diddy have known each other for decades - despite political differences.

Will Sean "Diddy" Combs be released sooner than expected? As a US government representative confirmed to the industry magazine Deadline, the White House is currently seriously considering a presidential pardon for the rapper.

Combs was found guilty in parts of an eight-week sex trafficking trial in New York on July 2. He faces up to three years in prison - the exact sentence is to be announced on October 3. The music producer has been in custody since his arrest in the fall of 2024.

Donald Trump had already indicated in May that he wanted to "look at the facts" if someone was "treated badly - whether they like me or not". Diddy, who once supported Trump but later turned to Joe Biden, has been acquainted with the former president since the 1990s.

Trump can overturn judgments

According to Deadline, the current pardon initiatives do not come directly from Diddy's lawyers, but from close confidants of the rapper. The White House merely stated that it does not comment on existing or non-existent requests for clemency.

The constitutionally guaranteed presidential right to pardon allows Trump to overturn sentences in whole or in part. Whether this will actually happen remains to be seen - as is so often the case with Trump, according to the insider: clemency is only a reality once it has been signed.