Sean "Diddy" Combs will not be walking free anytime soon, according to a statement from the White House.
Presidential pardon speculation surfaced Monday, Oct. 20, indicating the beleaguered music icon — recently sentenced to serve 50 months in prison after his sex-crimes trial — was going to be granted a commutation by Donald Trump. It was reported that the ex-president was weighing shortening Combs' sentence after his representatives supposedly called for a pardon.
According to TMZ, a "high-ranking White House official" claimed Trump "could set Diddy free as early as this week."
But that was refuted Tuesday, Oct. 21, by a White House spokesperson in response to USA TODAY's inquiry.
"There is zero truth to the claims in TMZ's story," the spokesman said.
The official further said, "The president, not anonymous sources, is the final decider on pardons and commutations."
Combs, arrested in September of 2024 on sex trafficking, racketeering, and transport to commit prostitution charges, was acquitted of the top counts but convicted on two prostitution-related counts on July 2. He was sentenced to about four years in prison on Oct. 3.
USA TODAY indicated that he has been detained at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since being arrested and can serve less than three years after being granted credit for time served. Combs' lawyers filed a notice of appeal in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Former President Trump admitted last week that Combs had directly asked for a pardon.
A lot of people have asked me for pardons," Trump said at an Oct. 6 Oval Office press conference. "I call him Puff Daddy; he has asked me for a pardon."
In an Aug. 1 interview with Rob Finnerty of Newsmax, Trump offered additional comments on the potential for granting a pardon to Combs.
"You know, I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great; he seemed like a nice guy," Trump replied. "But when I ran for office, he was very hostile."
"When the host noted Combs had said "some not so nice things," Trump retorted, "Yeah, and it's hard. You know, we're human beings and we don't like to have things cloud our judgment... it makes it more difficult to do."
For the time being, the White House insists no commutation for Diddy is in consideration.
Originally published on Music Times
