Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
President Donald Trump has revealed whether or not he would pardon Diddy after he was found guilty last month of transporting two victims to engage in prostitution.
During a lengthy sit-down interview with Newsmax, the 79-year-old Republican touched on whether or not the rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs could receive a presidential 'get out of jail free' card from the Oval Office.
The jury reached a final verdict at the beginning of July after his two-month trial came to conclusion, with Diddy having been placed in federal custody at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center over his alleged crimes since September 2024.
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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 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."
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.
People have since taken to social media to question the motives behind the president's pardons.
"Admitting that he pardons people based upon if he likes them," typed one person on Instagram.
While a second penned: "So you only pardon ppl you like not based on the actual situation."
With a third writing: "This is ridiculous."
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
Topics: Donald Trump, Diddy, Crime, Politics
Joe Yates