Trump considers pardoning Diddy and other celebs to mark America’s 250th: report

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President Donald Trump is reportedly considering a pardon for disgraced music mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, who is currently in federal prison in New Jersey for prostitution-related crimes.

The president is also reportedly considering some kind of reprieve for Prakazrel "Pras" Michel of the hip-hop group The Fugees, who is imprisoned on foreign lobbying-related violations, sources told CBS News.

The alleged clemency considerations may be part of a larger reported effort by the White House to issue “250 pardons for 250 years” as part of Independence Day celebrations.

The Independent has sought comment from Combs and Michel.

The White House referred The Independent to comments Trump made this January, in which the president claimed Combs wrote him a letter seeking a pardon. The Republican told The New York Times he is not considering granting the alleged request.

President Trump is reportedly mulling some form of clemency for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, though the Republican said as recently as January he was not considering an alleged pardon request from the disgraced music mogul

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President Trump is reportedly mulling some form of clemency for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, though the Republican said as recently as January he was not considering an alleged pardon request from the disgraced music mogul (AFP/Getty)

The denial joins comments from last year, when the White House batted down speculation a Diddy pardon was imminent.

The president and Combs, both New York City-based businessmen who had second careers in reality TV, previously knew each other socially, though Trump has said they lost touch after he entered politics.

"I haven't seen him. I haven't spoken to him in years," Trump said last May. "He used to really like me a lot, but I think when I ran for politics, that relationship busted up, from what I read."

Combs is currently appealing his conviction and sentence, as is Michel.

On Friday, the president announced on social media he had signed six pardons for people he claimed were “persecuted by the Biden Administration” for “fixing their car.”

Trump has repeatedly, falsely used this language to describe violations of the Clean Air Act, which prohibits tampering with monitoring devices on vehicles. In November, he pardoned a Wyoming diesel mechanic who had pleading guilty to violating the environmental law by disabling emissions monitors on scores of commercial trucks.

President Trump has issued a historic number of pardons, using the power of the presidency to free political and business allies, celebrities and white-collar criminals accused of fraud, bribery and corruption.

The president’s liberal use of the pardon power has reportedly inspired million-dollar lobbying campaigns targeting him and close associates

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The president’s liberal use of the pardon power has reportedly inspired million-dollar lobbying campaigns targeting him and close associates (Reuters)

He has granted reprieves to figures including rapper NBA YoungBoy, crypto business partner Changpeng Zhao, former president of Honduras and convicted drug trafficker Juan Orlando Hernández, and more than 1,000 MAGA supporters charged or convicted of crimes related to the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol.

The president’s liberal use of the pardon power has reportedly inspired million-dollar lobbying campaigns targeting the administration and close allies of the president.

Former crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried is among the high-profile figures seeking a pardon from Trump, according to Justice Department records.