Sean “Diddy” Combs, the American music mogul currently serving a prison sentence for prostitution-related offences, has asked President Donald Trump for a presidential pardon, but the US leader has indicated he will not grant clemency.

In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times published on Thursday, Trump confirmed that Combs submitted a letter seeking relief from his 50-month sentence, but said he was “not inclined” to act on the request. The president declined to produce the letter when pressed by the newspaper. 

The 56-year-old founder of Bad Boy Records was convicted in July on two counts of transporting people across state lines for prostitution and sentenced in October. A jury acquitted him of more serious charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering. 

Trump, who has already issued pardons to a number of high-profile figures since returning to the White House, made clear that Combs will not be added to that list. “He asked me for a pardon … but I’m not going to do it,” the president told The New York Times. 

The president’s refusal extends beyond Combs. Asked whether he would consider clemency for other contentious figures, including deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, recently detained by US authorities on drug trafficking charges, Trump responded “No, I don’t see that.” 

Also mentioned by Trump were disgraced former crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried and ex-Democratic senator Robert Menendez, both serving lengthy prison terms, of whom he said he was “not planning” to pardon. 

Trump’s record on clemency has been polarising. On the day of his inauguration he issued pardons for more than 1,500 individuals linked to the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, and his administration has since issued a series of controversial grants of executive mercy to political allies and celebrities. 

Combs’ legal team has previously pursued legal avenues beyond a pardon, including an expedited appeal of his conviction and requests for transfer to a New Jersey facility to pursue rehabilitative programmes, but the prospect of executive clemency now appears remote. 

The refusal is likely to fuel debate in the United States over presidential pardon powers and the extent to which personal and political animosities influence decisions that have traditionally been framed as matters of mercy and justice. 


AFP


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