Sean Combs has written a personal letter to President Donald Trump requesting a pardon following his sentencing to over four years in prison. Trump, once a social acquaintance of the music mogul, stated he is not considering the appeal. The request comes amid Combs' ongoing legal battles over sex trafficking-related charges.
Sean Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Entertainment, reached out directly to President Donald Trump with a letter seeking a pardon after receiving a 50-month prison sentence. The 56-year-old was convicted in July on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, stemming from a larger sex trafficking and racketeering investigation. Although acquitted of the most serious charges, a jury held him responsible for arranging interstate travel for male sex workers to participate in events known as 'freak-offs' with his girlfriends.
The sentencing occurred in October before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who imposed the term despite defense arguments for leniency. Combs' legal team appealed last month, claiming the judge acted as a 'thirteenth juror' and noting that Mann Act violations typically result in sentences under 15 months, even with coercion elements not found here. Subramanian emphasized the 'massive' evidence of abuse during freak-offs and hotel nights, rejecting portrayals of the events as mere consensual encounters.
'The court rejects the defense’s attempt to characterize what happened here as merely intimate, consensual experiences, or just a sex, drugs, and rock and roll story,' the judge stated. 'A history of good works can’t wash away the record in this case, which showed that you abused the power and control that you had over the lives of women you professed to love dearly. You abused them physically, emotionally, and psychologically. And you used that abuse to get your way, especially when it came to freak-offs and hotel nights.'
Trump, who socialized with Combs in New York City's elite circles during the 1990s and 2000s, dismissed the plea during a recent interaction with reporters, saying he was not inclined to grant it. Efforts to secure the pardon began after Combs' arrest in September 2024, intensifying post his summer acquittal on major charges and the November presidential election. Associates reportedly contacted Trump allies, offering mid-six-figure payments for assistance. A source close to Combs remarked, 'He’s willing to do anything to get out of jail.' Combs' representatives declined further comment on the letter's contents or timing.
