President Donald Trump is “seriously considering” a pardon for Sean “Diddy” Combs as the shamed rapper awaits sentencing.
RadarOnline.com has reported that the President, has been mulling over the reprieve and according to insiders, the idea had progressed from “just another Trump weave to an actionable event.”
It comes as Combs’ defense attorneys on Tuesday filed a motion requesting the Bad Boy Records founder’s release, outlining the terms for his bail, including a $50million bond and travel restrictions.
Diddy was found not-guilty of s*x-trafficking and racketeering earlier this month. However, he was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs is set to receive his sentencing on October 3rd and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
A presidential pardon has been talked of since the beginning of Combs’ trial, and Trump even indicated in May that he was open to the idea. The President said, when asked on the matter in the Oval Office, that “nobody’s asked but I know people are thinking about it.
“I know they’re thinking about it. I think some people have been very close to asking,” he added.
“First of all, I’d look at what’s happening. And I haven’t been watching it too closely, although it’s certainly getting a lot of coverage,” Trump continued.
“I haven’t seen him, I haven’t spoken to him in years. He used to really like me a lot, but I think when I ran for politics he sort of, that relationship busted up from what I read. I don’t know. He didn’t tell me that, but I’d read some nasty statements in the paper all of a sudden.”
“So, I don’t know. I would certainly look at the facts. if I think somebody was mistreated, whether they like me or don’t like me it wouldn’t have any impact,” he concluded.
Attorney John Koufos recently met with Trump’s pardon advisor, Alice Marie Johnson, and pardon attorney Ed Martin. He revealed that some elements of the case align with Trump’s stance against “overcriminalization” and the “weaponization” of charges.
Trump himself has been charged with racketeering conspiracy in the Georgia election interference case and has consistently criticized what he describes as the weaponization of the criminal justice system.
Analysts observing the Diddy case have questioned whether the government has overcharged him. Koufos expressed concern about how the defendant could be implicated in a RICO conspiracy by acting alone.
“Had he been convicted of a RICO (charge), you’d be looking at something different. The fact that he was convicted of things that it seems that he pretty obviously did probably mitigates against a grant of clemency,” he said, there was “nothing particularly sympathetic” about the defendant.
