Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ lawyer says they’ve reached out to U.S. President Donald Trump searching for a pardon following the rapper’s conviction on two counts of a prostitution-related offence.
A supply near Combs’ authorized group confirmed to NBC Information that they’d been in touch with the Trump administration.
This comes after Nicole Westmoreland, a member of Combs’ defence group, informed CNN in an unique interview earlier this week that the music mogul’s group had reached out to Trump for a possible pardon.
“It’s my understanding that we’ve reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon,” Westmoreland informed the outlet.
Westmoreland added that Combs “is a really hopeful particular person and I consider that he stays hopeful” in regards to the request.
When requested in regards to the potential pardon, a White Home official informed CNN that they “is not going to touch upon the existence or nonexistence of any clemency request.”
Final week, Trump informed Newsmax that Combs’ legal professionals have “talked to me about Sean” however mentioned he was unlikely to pardon the music mogul.
“I used to be very pleasant with him, I received together with him nice and he appeared like a pleasant man. I didn’t know him properly. However once I ran for workplace, he was very hostile,” Trump mentioned.
“And it’s arduous, you already know? I’m such as you; we’re human beings, proper? And we don’t wish to have issues cloud our judgment,” Trump continued. “However once you knew somebody and also you had been advantageous and you then run for workplace and he made some horrible statements, so I don’t know, it’s harder. It makes it extra — I’m being sincere — it makes it harder to do.”
When Trump was requested if granting Combs clemency was extra seemingly a “no,” he mentioned, “I might say so.”
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This isn’t the primary time Trump has been requested about whether or not he would think about pardoning Combs.
In Could, when Fox Information’ Peter Doocy requested the query, Trump mentioned he would “actually take a look at the information,” including that “no person’s requested” however “persons are serious about it.”
Trump additionally mentioned he hadn’t seen or spoken to Combs in years and was not following his trial carefully.
The information of Combs’ group reaching out to Trump comes after a choose mentioned the rapper should keep in jail till he’s sentenced in October.
Combs has been behind bars since his September arrest. He confronted federal expenses of coercing girlfriends into having drug-fuelled intercourse marathons with male intercourse employees whereas he watched and filmed them.
He was acquitted final month of the highest expenses — racketeering and intercourse trafficking.
In denying Combs’ US$50-million bond proposal, Choose Arun Subramanian mentioned Combs hadn’t confirmed that he didn’t pose a flight danger or hazard, nor proven an “distinctive circumstance” that might justify his launch after a conviction that in any other case requires detention.
Combs’ arguments “may need traction in a case that didn’t contain proof of violence, coercion or subjugation in reference to the acts of prostitution at subject, however the file right here accommodates proof of all three,” the choose wrote.
In a courtroom submitting, Combs’ defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo had claimed circumstances on the Metropolitan Detention Middle in Brooklyn had been “harmful,” and mentioned defendants convicted up to now of prostitution-related expenses that had been just like Combs’ had been sometimes launched earlier than their sentencing.
Combs’ sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 3.
“Although Mr. Combs has been a mannequin inmate for his practically year-long interval of confinement, the violent circumstances are nonetheless very a lot a priority for Mr. Combs and is an pointless confinement danger,” Agnifilo wrote.
Throughout Combs’ trial, the rapper pleaded not responsible, and his legal professionals contended that prosecutors had been attempting to criminalize Combs’ swinger way of life.
In all, 34 witnesses testified, headlined by Combs’ former girlfriends Cassie — the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura — and “Jane,” who testified below a pseudonym. Each girls mentioned he was usually violent towards them. Ventura mentioned he compelled her into tons of of sexual encounters with paid male intercourse employees, whereas Jane recounted quite a few “lodge nights.”
However Combs’ lawyer continued to argue that he “shouldn’t be in jail for this conduct” within the submitting.
“In truth, he could be the solely particular person at the moment in a United States jail for being any kind of john and positively the one particular person in jail for hiring grownup male escorts for him and his girlfriend, when he didn’t even have intercourse with the escort himself,” Agnifilo wrote.
Combs’ authorized group made an identical argument to Subramanian after his sentencing, asking him to grant bail to the hip-hop mogul.
Subramanian declined and mentioned the relevant legislation didn’t permit for Combs’ launch at the moment.
Amongst different causes, the choose famous Combs’ violent historical past: “At trial, the defence conceded the defendant’s violence in his private relationships, saying it occurred with Cassie and Jane.”
Combs’ conviction carries the potential for as much as 10 years in jail. However there are sophisticated federal tips for calculating sentences in any given case, and prosecutors and Combs’ legal professionals disagree considerably on how the rules come out for his case.
— With information from The Related Press
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