Donald Trump is not considering disgraced music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ pardon request. During a January 7, 2026, interview with The New York Times, the US President revealed that Diddy sent him a letter requesting a pardon.
“[Diddy] asked me for a pardon. Through a letter,” Trump said. He then asked reporters present during the interview, “Oh, would you like to see that letter?” but ultimately did not show them the document.
The publication also clarified that the President is “not considering granting the request” and hinted that “he had no intention of pardoning several other high-profile people,” including the likes of recently captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Donald Trump says Diddy penned him a handwritten letter seeking pardon, but he’s not considering the request. pic.twitter.com/PjbnZjPHyC
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 9, 2026
Back in May 2025, Trump told ABC News he hadn’t spoken to Diddy in years when asked about whether he would consider pardoning the controversial musician. “I haven’t seen him, I haven’t spoken to him for years,” he said.
When a reporter mentioned Trump had referred to Diddy as a friend in 2012, the President said the convicted star “used to really like me a lot,” but mentioned their relationship “busted up” when Diddy refused to rally behind Trump while he ran for office.
“I got along with him great. Seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile… It’s hard,” the 79-year-old said at the time.
During another interview with Newsmax in August 2025, Trump revealed Diddy was among the high-profile names who asked him to grant a pardon. However, he stated that the artist’s negative attitude during his presidential campaign decreased his chances of consideration.
“We’re human beings. 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… I’m being honest,” Trump shared.
President Trump reacts to media chatter of potential clemency or presidential pardons for figures like Ghislaine Maxwell, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and former Rep. George Santos. @RobFinnertyUSA pic.twitter.com/Hzd2ZaF2SA
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) August 2, 2025
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was arrested and indicted in 2024 on charges of racketeering, s– trafficking by force, and transportation for purposes of p————. In July 2025, the rapper was found not guilty of the first two charges but guilty on two counts of the third charge.
He was sentenced to 50 months in prison and five years of supervised release on October 3, 2025. Since then, Diddy has continued to appeal his conviction.
A TMZ report on October 20, 2025, claimed that an anonymous “high-ranking White House official” said Trump was “vacillating” on “commuting Diddy’s sentence as early as this week.”
However, the White House immediately dismissed the claims, saying, “There is zero truth to the TMZ report, which we would’ve gladly explained had they reached out before running their fake news.”
