US President Donald Trump has rejected a request for a presidential pardon from hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for prostitution-related offences.
Trump disclosed this in an interview with The New York Times published on Thursday, stating that although Combs had written to him seeking clemency, he had no intention of granting it.
The 56-year-old music executive was convicted in July last year on two counts of transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution.
However, a jury acquitted him of the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
Speaking during the interview, Trump also ruled out issuing pardons to several other high-profile figures.
Asked about deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who was recently seized by US forces and now faces drug trafficking charges, Trump said: “No, I don’t see that.”
The president further indicated that disgraced cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried, currently serving a 25-year prison sentence, and former Democratic senator Robert Menendez, who is serving an 11-year sentence for bribery-related offences, would also not be granted clemency.
Trump, however, has issued pardons in notable cases in recent months.
In November, he pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who had been sentenced to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking.
He was also asked whether he would consider pardoning former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, convicted of the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Trump responded that he had not been approached on the matter.
On the day of his inauguration, Trump granted pardons to more than 1,500 individuals who had either been convicted or were facing charges over their involvement in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
He has since issued additional pardons to political allies and loyalists.
