Donald Trump claims Sean 'Diddy' Combs pleaded for presidential pardon

Former President Donald Trump has confirmed that music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs requested a presidential pardon in connection with his recent federal criminal conviction.

During an interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Monday, Trump was asked about the possibility of pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, the former associate of Jeffrey Epstein and while discussing the broader topic of presidential clemency, Trump revealed that “a lot of people have asked me for pardons,” specifically naming Combs among them.

The confirmation comes just days after the Last Night singer was sentenced to more than four years in prison for his conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

Back in August, Comb’s legal team had indicated that discussions were underway with the Trump administration.

Attorney Nicole Westmoreland told CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister at the time, “It’s my understanding that we’ve reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon.”

Despite the request, Trump had expressed skepticism about granting clemency to Combs. In an earlier interview with Newsmax, he commented, “I was very friendly with him, I got along with him great and he seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile.”

He added that the strained relationship “made pardoning Combs more difficult to do.”

When CNN reached out to the White House for clarification on Westmoreland’s comments in August, a White House official declined to elaborate, saying they “will not comment on the existence or nonexistence of any clemency request.”

Also on Monday, the rapper’s legal team filed a request with Judge Arun Subramanian, who handed down the sentencing asking that he recommend Combs be placed in a low-security federal correctional facility in Fort Dix, New Jersey.

According to the filing, the move would help Sean "Diddy" Combs “address drug abuse issues” and “maximize family visitation and rehabilitative efforts.”