President Trump Says "Puff Daddy" Has Asked Him for a Pardon — Here's What He Said

Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs' first brush with the law happened when he was a student at Howard University in December 1991. The rapper was promoting a celebrity basketball game with hip hop artist Heavy D when a crowd rushed the venue, causing nine people to die, reports the Associated Press.

From there, it was both up and downhill for the former CEO of Bad Boy Records.

Throughout his successful career, Combs managed to avoid any prison time for various gun and assault charges. In November 2023, the rapper's ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, sued him for abuse and rape. This opened up an avalanche of lawsuits and a criminal trial that resulted in a 50-month sentence at a federal prison.

The music mogul is hoping for a pardon from President Donald Trump. Here is the latest information.

In October 2025, CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked President Trump about pardoning convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. After telling Collins he would have to speak with the DOJ, the president suddenly began talking about Diddy. "I call him Puff Daddy," said Trump, who revealed that the rapper asked him for a pardon.

Combs was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution but was acquitted of the more serious charges of sex trafficking. Prior to Combs' sentencing, his lawyers confirmed that they had asked the president about the possibility of a pardon, per CNN. Trump told Newsmax that he was "very friendly" with Combs and thought he was a nice guy.

When Trump ran for office, he said Combs was hostile to him, which makes the decision to pardon the rapper "more difficult."

In May 2025, Suge Knight, who is currently serving a 28-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter, spoke with host Chris Cuomo of NewsNation about Diddy’s federal sex trafficking and racketeering investigation. At the time, no criminal conviction had been made. Suge insisted he was not worried about how things were going to play out for Diddy.

“I still feel that Puffy’s gonna be all right and have a fair shot at it, because Puffy didn’t — he’s not a dummy,” Suge insisted.

He clarified he wasn’t sure who was going to come out of the woodwork to convince the jury. But “at the end of the day,” Diddy only needed one or two people to be convinced on the jury. He added: “It’s going to be a real exciting situation, but I think he’s going to be all right.”

Chris proceeded to ask Suge if he was suggesting Diddy would tamper with the jury. While he didn’t directly answer the question, he acknowledged that Diddy did have “influence.”

Furthermore, Suge felt that the prosecution had it out for Diddy.

It was what Suge said next, however, that triggered the theory that a presidential pardon was waiting for Diddy.

“I don’t think he’s worried, because he’s going to be federal. And if he gets convicted, Trump’s going to pardon him,” he said.

Wanting more, Chris asked Suge directly if he really believed President Trump was willing to pardon Diddy for sex trafficking. Suge doubled down but he didn’t offer a scrap of detail or evidence to support what he was saying.