Diddy Appeals to Trump for Pardon Ahead of Sentencing as He’s Denied Bail

Reps for Sean “Diddy” Combs have reached out to President Donald Trump in a last-ditch effort to secure a presidential pardon ahead of his October sentencing on interstate prostitution charges, according to his attorney.

The disgraced music mogul, once a towering figure in hip-hop and celebrity culture, was denied bail on Tuesday after he was found guilty of transporting women across state lines for prostitution. Though cleared of the more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, which carried the threat of life behind bars, Combs still faces up to 20 years in prison.

Combs’ lawyer, Nicole Westmoreland, told CNN entertainment correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister on Tuesday that the team had approached Trump about a potential pardon.

“It’s my understanding that we’ve reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon,” she said.

Trump himself appeared to acknowledge the outreach during an interview with Newsmax host Rob Finnerty last week.

“They have talked to me about Sean,” the president said. “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.”

Pressed further, Trump admitted: “It makes it more difficult to do… I would say so,” when asked if a pardon was unlikely.

Once a Grammy-winning producer and founder of Bad Boy Records, his career imploded under the weight of criminal charges and multiple civil suits, including a $100 million defamation claim against NBCUniversal.

During the trial, jurors were shown explicit videos of Combs’ notorious “freak-off” sex parties, which allegedly involved Combs and sex workers that prosecutors charged had been flown to Miami, Los Angeles, New York, and Las Vegas, according to the Associated Press.

Combs has denied all charges against him.