I still remember the relief I felt when Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to twenty years in prison back in 2022. It wasn’t enough, but I felt relieved that FINALLY justice had been done and there was some accountability for Ghislaine. Well, it’s looking inevitable that Donald Trump will pardon Ghislaine or commute her sentence or something. That’s one convicted sexual predator being released back into the wild. But Trump isn’t stopping there! Of course not. Deadline reports exclusively that Trump is heavily considering a pardon for Sean Combs, who was just recently convicted of two federal charges (but not convicted of racketeering or trafficking). Combs hasn’t even been sentenced yet – his sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 3. Is Trump going to pardon him before the sentencing??

Donald Trump is heavily weighing giving Sean “Diddy” Combs a full presidential pardon ahead of the convicted Bad Boy Records founder’s sentencing later this year. Nearly two months after Trump publicly entertained the notion of a Diddy pardon in an Oval Office gaggle, a comprehensive get out of jail card for Combs is being “seriously considered,” an administration source tells Deadline.

Additionally, as several associates of the much-accused and currently incarcerated “All About the Benjamins” performer have been pitching the White House, other insiders confirm the topic has leveled up from “just another Trump weave to an actionable event” since Combs was found partially guilty in the his NYC sex-trafficking trial earlier this month. Of course, as a number of parties attest, this being the roller coaster of Trumpworld, any decision on a Combs pardon is in flux until POTUS actually puts his signature on paper.

Repeatedly denied a $50 million bond and release from Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest last September, Combs could end up spending two to three years in a federal prison upon his sentencing on October 3 by Judge Arun Subramanian. Any sentence certainly would include time already served by Combs. Even with that, and the feds seeking the maximum under sentencing guidelines, an appeal is widely expected to be launched by the 10-attorney-deep defense almost immediately after sentencing occurs.

Contacted by Deadline, Combs’ defense team led by Marc Agnifilo and Teny Gerago had “no comment” on any pardon talk for their client. While a number of individuals close to Combs both personally and professionally have been very active in seeking White House recourse for the Grammy winner, the defense team itself has had no significant participation in the process, I hear. Up on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the reply was that “the White House will not comment on the existence or nonexistence of any clemency request,” according to an administration official.

[From Deadline]

Well. I’m not surprised that Combs’ associates are already lobbying for this, nor am I surprised that the Trump White House is considering it. What’s striking about this administration is their lack of care for the political optics. Usually, even despicable people care about how things look to a wider audience. Combs’ conviction was popular across demographics. If anything, a wide swath of people wanted Combs convicted on more charges. Only the worst misogynists in the country were defending Combs in any way. But it’s no surprise that Trump would take the side of the worst misogynists.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.