Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ lawyer says they’ve reached out to U.S. President Donald Trump seeking a pardon following the rapper’s conviction on two counts of a prostitution-related offence.
A source close to Combs’ legal team confirmed to NBC News that they had been in contact with the Trump administration.
This comes after Nicole Westmoreland, a member of Combs’ defence team, told CNN in an exclusive interview earlier this week that the music mogul’s team had reached out to Trump for a potential pardon.
“It’s my understanding that we’ve reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon,” Westmoreland told the outlet.
Westmoreland added that Combs “is a very hopeful person and I believe that he remains hopeful” about the request.
When asked about the potential pardon, a White House official told CNN that they “will not comment on the existence or nonexistence of any clemency request.”
Last week, Trump told Newsmax that Combs’ lawyers have “talked to me about Sean” but said he was unlikely to pardon the music mogul.
“I was very friendly with him, I got along with him great and he seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile,” Trump said.
“And it’s hard, you know? I’m like you; we’re human beings, right? And we don’t like to have things cloud our judgment,” Trump continued. “But when you knew someone and you were fine and then you run for office and he made some terrible statements, so I don’t know, it’s more difficult. It makes it more — I’m being honest — it makes it more difficult to do.”
When Trump was asked if granting Combs clemency was more likely a “no,” he said, “I would say so.”
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This isn’t the first time Trump has been asked about whether he would consider pardoning Combs.
In May, when Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked the question, Trump said he would “certainly look at the facts,” adding that “nobody’s asked” but “people are thinking about it.”
Trump also said he hadn’t seen or spoken to Combs in years and was not following his trial closely.
The news of Combs’ team reaching out to Trump comes after a judge said the rapper must stay in jail until he is sentenced in October.
Combs has been behind bars since his September arrest. He faced federal charges of coercing girlfriends into having drug-fuelled sex marathons with male sex workers while he watched and filmed them.
He was acquitted last month of the top charges — racketeering and sex trafficking.
In denying Combs’ US$50-million bond proposal, Judge Arun Subramanian said Combs hadn’t proven that he did not pose a flight risk or danger, nor shown an “exceptional circumstance” that would justify his release after a conviction that otherwise requires detention.
Combs’ arguments “might have traction in a case that didn’t involve evidence of violence, coercion or subjugation in connection with the acts of prostitution at issue, but the record here contains evidence of all three,” the judge wrote.
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In a court filing, Combs’ defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo had claimed conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn were “dangerous,” and said defendants convicted in the past of prostitution-related charges that were similar to Combs’ were typically released before their sentencing.
Combs’ sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 3.
“Though Mr. Combs has been a model inmate for his nearly year-long period of confinement, the violent conditions are still very much a concern for Mr. Combs and is an unnecessary confinement risk,” Agnifilo wrote.
During Combs’ trial, the rapper pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers contended that prosecutors were trying to criminalize Combs’ swinger lifestyle.
In all, 34 witnesses testified, headlined by Combs’ former girlfriends Cassie — the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura — and “Jane,” who testified under a pseudonym. Both women said he was often violent toward them. Ventura said he forced her into hundreds of sexual encounters with paid male sex workers, while Jane recounted numerous “hotel nights.”
But Combs’ lawyer continued to argue that he “should not be in jail for this conduct” in the filing.
“In fact, he may be the only person currently in a United States jail for being any sort of john and certainly the only person in jail for hiring adult male escorts for him and his girlfriend, when he did not even have sex with the escort himself,” Agnifilo wrote.
Combs’ legal team made a similar argument to Subramanian after his sentencing, asking him to grant bail to the hip-hop mogul.
Subramanian declined and said the applicable law didn’t allow for Combs’ release at that time.
Among other reasons, the judge noted Combs’ violent history: “At trial, the defence conceded the defendant’s violence in his personal relationships, saying it happened with Cassie and Jane.”
Combs’ conviction carries the potential for up to 10 years in prison. But there are complicated federal guidelines for calculating sentences in any given case, and prosecutors and Combs’ lawyers disagree substantially on how the guidelines come out for his case.
— With files from The Associated Press
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