An attorney for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs confirmed Tuesday that his legal team has approached the Trump administration about a pardon — even as the president has signaled he’s leaning against letting the rapper off the hook, according to a report.
Nicole Westmoreland, a member of Combs’ defense team, said his legal posse has reached out to the Trump administration about pardoning the Bad Boy Records founder after he was found guilty of two counts of prostitution but acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges in July.
“It’s my understanding that we’ve reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon,” Westmoreland told CNN in an exclusive interview.
President Trump on Friday told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty that he was wrestling with whether he would consider pardoning Combs — but appeared to lean against it after stating the rapper was “hostile” to him when he ran for office.
“Well, he was essentially, I guess, sort of half innocent,” Trump said of the Diddy case.
“Probably – eh, 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, but when I ran for office he was very hostile,” Trump said.
“It’s hard, you know, like, we’re human beings, and we don’t like to have things cloud our judgment, right? 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,” the president continued.
“They have talked to me about Sean,” Trump revealed.
When Finnerty asked if Trump was “more likely a ‘no’ for Combs,” the president responded: “I would say so.”
The president had previously signaled that he had been considering pardoning Combs while the music mogul was still on trial in Manhattan.
“I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated, whether they like me or don’t like me, it wouldn’t have any impact on me,” he said of the decision in May.
Despite any remarks made by the commander in chief, the disgraced star remains hopeful about a pardon, his attorney claimed.
“[Combs] is a very hopeful person, and I believe that he remains hopeful,” Westmoreland said.
Combs has been behind bars since his September arrest, where he faced federal charges of coercing girlfriends into having drug-fueled sex marathons with male sex workers while he watched and filmed them.
Judge Arun Subramanian ruled Monday that he will remain in jail, rejecting his latest bid for bail.
Combs will be sentenced in October and faces a maximum of 20 years behind bars.
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