The White House on Tuesday forcefully rejected reports that President Donald Trump is considering pardoning hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, who is serving a four-year prison sentence for prostitution-related convictions. The denial followed a TMZ report claiming Trump was "vacillating" on granting clemency to Combs, citing a "high-ranking White House official."
"There is zero truth to the TMZ report, which we would've gladly explained had they reached out before running their fake news," a senior White House official told NBC News. "The President, not anonymous sources, is the final decider on pardons and commutations."
The rebuttal came amid growing speculation within Washington that Trump's team had quietly debated whether freeing Combs could inflame tensions among the president's conservative base. According to Deadline, White House aides feared a backlash from Trump's MAGA supporters if the former music executive-convicted in July of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution-received leniency. One source close to the administration reportedly warned the fallout could be "catastrophic."
Combs, 55, was sentenced on October 3 to 50 months in federal prison, fined $500,000, and ordered to serve five years of supervised release. His legal team, led by Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, filed a notice of appeal Monday, seeking to overturn the conviction. He has continued to maintain his innocence, pleading not guilty to all charges.
The TMZ report alleged Trump might act within days to commute the sentence. But following Tuesday's statement, Trump insiders told Deadline the president has "pretty much nixed" the idea, with one adviser citing "MAGA blowback" and another noting that Trump was "never fully committed" to the pardon despite personal ties to Combs dating back to their overlapping days in New York's celebrity circles.
Trump himself had publicly suggested his reluctance earlier this summer. "You know, I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great and seemed like a nice guy. I didn't know him well," Trump told Newsmax on August 1. "But when I ran for office, he was very hostile." When pressed further, Trump said, "I would say so" when asked if that meant he wouldn't pardon the rapper.
The White House's statement follows a series of headline-making clemency decisions during Trump's second term. In January, he pardoned roughly 1,500 people charged in connection with the January 6 Capitol riot. In May, he extended clemency to reality television personalities Todd and Julie Chrisley. Last week, Trump commuted the sentence of former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
While TMZ stood by its story-spokesperson Casey Carver said, "We stand by our story"-White House aides underscored that any pardon decision rests solely with the president.
Combs' attorneys have requested that he be transferred from Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center to the lower-security Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix in New Jersey, though the Bureau of Prisons has not approved the move. Court filings also indicate Combs will be required to attend outpatient drug treatment, domestic-violence programs, and regular probation meetings upon release.
