Sean “Diddy” Combs could receive a full presidential pardon by Donald Trump before his sentencing later this year.
According to Deadline on Tuesday, Trump has “seriously considered” pardoning the disgraced mogul ahead of his sentencing in a sex trafficking and racketeering case.
This comes after Trump said back in May that he would “certainly” consider granting clemency to Diddy, who was convicted in June on two counts under the Mann Act but was acquitted of more serious charges, including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.
On Tuesday, Diddy’s legal team filed a new motion asking Judge Arun Subramanian to release him from pre-sentencing detention, calling his incarceration unjustified and unprecedented. They argue he is the only person in the U.S. jailed under the Mann Act for consensual sex.
His lawyers claim that paying male escorts as part of a consensual swinger lifestyle with his then-girlfriend should not warrant jail time.
“There has literally never been a case like this one […] Sean Combs should not be in jail for this conduct,” the motion stated, arguing that the government’s approach “is inconsistent with Justice Department policy,” which usually targets commercial sex exploiters rather than individual participants.
This story is being updated.
