Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
A day shy of a month on from when Diddy was found guilty on two of the five counts against him, President Donald Trump spoke about the possibility of pardoning him.
That was on Friday (August 1), the 79-year-old sat down with Newsmax when he divulged on whether or not he would be willing to award the disgraced rapper with a 'get out of jail free card', and on the very same day, his lawyer broke his silence on the matter.
But first, let's refresh ourselves on the final verdict in Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial which the jury reached at the beginning of July.
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He denied all five charges he was facing - but was found guilty of two in relation to transportation to engage in prostitution of his at the time girlfriend Cassie Ventura, as well as a another woman given the pseudonym 'Jane' to protect her identity.
Now, speaking to Variety, Diddy's lead counsel Mark Agnifilo was asked whether he had been in communication with the Trump administration to discuss the possibility of a pardon.
"I am not involved in that in the least. I have literally no idea. There are times I think there’s nothing to it, and there are times I think it’s just rumor mill stuff. But, I do not purport to know the president’s mind. I really don’t know," he explained.
Before being asked to confirm that seeking a presidential pardon for his client wasn't a part of his team's legal strategy, he replied: "No. My end of the business is very focused on the case alone - the merit of the case and what happened in the courtroom. I don’t do anything else."
It comes as Trump spoke with Newsmax's Rob Finnerty.
Now, speaking in an interview that aired yesterday (August 2), Rob Finnerty asked the POTUS: "Sean 'Diddy' Combs. Would you consider pardoning him?"
He replied: "Well, he was essentially, I guess, sort of half innocent. I don't know what they do. He's still in jail or something, but he was celebrating a victory. But he seems, I guess it wasn't as good as a victory.
"Probably, you know, I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great and seemed like a nice guy - I didn't know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile."
Finnerty interjected: "He said some not so nice things about you, sir."
Two of those things were shared by Combs' rival 50 Cent, who took to social media to remind Trump that the rap mogul was not a supporter of his - on the off-chance that the president would give his nemesis a pardon.
Speaking on Revolt, Combs said back in 2020 that 'white men like Trump need to be banished', while having also previously claimed there would be a 'race war' if he ever got elected.
The president continued: "And it's hard, you know, I'm like you - we're human beings, and we don't like to have things cloud our judgment, right? But when you knew someone and you were fine, and then you run for office and he made some terrible statements.
"So, I don't know, it's more difficult, it makes it more - I'm being honest - it makes it more difficult to do."
Finnerty then asked: "But more likely a no for Combs?"
"I would say so," Trump responded.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
Joe Yates