The 56‑year‑old music executive, currently serving a multi‑year prison sentence on prostitution‑related convictions, reportedly wrote to US President Donald Trump seeking clemency, but the president has made it clear he has no plans to grant the request.
According to President Trump, in a recent interview with The New York Times, Combs sent him a written appeal for a pardon after his conviction.
Trump acknowledged receiving the letter but showed little inclination to respond favourably.
“He asked me for a pardon,” the president said when pressed about the request, even quipping, “Oh, would you like to see that letter?” though he did not produce it publicly.
Combs’ legal team has not publicly disclosed the contents of the communication, while a White House spokesperson confirmed Trump’s remarks to the press.
Combs’ Conviction
Combs, a one‑time titan of hip‑hop and founder of Bad Boy Records, was convicted in July 2025 on two counts of transporting people across state lines for prostitution, charges tied to the organisation of paid sexual encounters. A jury acquitted him of the more serious accusations of racketeering and sex trafficking.
In October 2025, a federal judge sentenced him to 50 months in prison and a $500,000 fine. With credit for time already served, his release is projected for mid‑2028.
Trump, who himself has a long and controversial history of issuing clemency, suggested that the decision was influenced, at least in part, by the shift in his relationship with Combs over the years.
Once socially acquainted with the music star, Trump said their rapport soured after Combs became publicly critical of him during political campaigns. In the interview, Trump noted the change: “I was very friendly with him … but when he ran for office, he was very hostile,” which he said complicates his judgment.
Trump also used the interview to address other high‑profile figures rumoured to be seeking clemency.
When asked if he would consider pardons for deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, the president responded flatly, “No, I don’t see that.”
He similarly dismissed prospects of pardoning disgraced crypto executive Sam Bankman‑Fried and former Senator Robert Menendez, both of whom are serving lengthy prison sentences on fraud and bribery charges, respectively.
When queried about possibly pardoning Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in the murder of George Floyd, Trump said simply, “I haven’t been asked about it.”
Although he has denied this particular request, Trump’s tenure as president featured a series of controversial clemencies.
On his inauguration day, he pardoned more than 1,500 people tied to the January 6 Capitol attack, and in subsequent years extended clemency to various political allies and celebrity figures, moves that sparked heated debate across the US political spectrum.