White House Dismisses Report Claiming Trump Plans to Release Diddy From Prison This Week
The White House has dismissed reports claiming President Donald Trump plans to release rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs early.
Officials called the TMZ story fake, insisting no such discussion ever took place.
The White House has strongly denied a report suggesting that US President Donald Trump is considering granting Sean “Diddy” Combs an early release from prison, calling the story “completely fraudulent.”
Combs, 55, was sentenced to 50 months in prison after being convicted on two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution. He had earlier been acquitted of more serious s€x traff!cking and racketeering charges, which could have carried a much longer sentence.
A TMZ report had claimed that a “White House insider” said Trump was “vacillating” on whether to follow his recent commutation of former Congressman George Santos with a similar gesture for Combs. The source also claimed that while senior White House staff were advising against the move, “Trump will do what he wants.”
However, a White House spokesperson told the Daily Mail that the story was entirely fabricated.
“There is zero truth to the TMZ report, which we would’ve gladly explained had they reached out before running their fake news,” the spokesperson said. “The president, not anonymous sources, is the final decider on pardons and commutations.”
Trump has previously commented on Combs’ legal situation. In an August interview with Newsmax, the president described the rapper as “sort of half innocent,” referencing his acquittal on major charges but noting that his conviction still stood.
“Well, he was essentially, sort of, half innocent. I don’t know why he’s still in jail. He was celebrating a victory, but I guess it wasn’t as good a victory,” Trump said at the time.
The president also acknowledged his past acquaintance with Combs, noting that both are New Yorkers who rose to fame around the same period. “I was very friendly with him. Got along with him great. Seemed like a nice guy, didn’t know him well,” he said. In May, Trump hinted that he might “look at what’s happening” regarding Combs’ case, adding that “he used to really like me a lot.”
Meanwhile, Combs’ legal team has filed notice of an appeal against his conviction. In a two-page filing submitted to the Federal District Court of New York, his attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, indicated plans to challenge the ruling but did not provide the detailed basis for the appeal.
According to prior court documents, Combs’ lawyers have argued that the prostitution-related charges were misapplied, describing them as outdated provisions under the Mann Act that are rarely enforced.
Combs has already served 13 months of his 50-month sentence as his legal battle continues.
