President Trump fielded a pointed question Friday (May 30) inside the Oval Office about whether he’d consider granting a pardon to embattled music mogul Diddy , who is currently on trial for federal sex trafficking and RICO charges.
Trump, who has been entangled in his own legal battles surrounding sexual assault and rape allegations, acknowledged knowing Diddy personally but said their relationship faded after he entered politics.
“Nobody’s asked and I know they’re thinking about it. He used to really like me a lot, but I think when I ran for politics, that relationship busted up from what I read,” President Trump said. “I’d read some nasty statements he made in the paper all of a sudden. [But] you become a much different person when you run for politics and you do what’s right.”
President Trump emphasized that any decision regarding a pardon wouldn’t be based on personal ties or public opinion, distancing himself from any favoritism.
“I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated, whether they like me or don’t like me, it wouldn’t have any impact on me,” President Trump said when asked about the potential pardon.
A growing list of Hip-Hop artists have received clemency from Donald Trump , including Lil Wayne , Kodak Black and most recently, NBA YoungBoy , who was pardoned on May 28.
The legal parallels between Trump and Diddy are hard to ignore. Both men, once cultural powerhouses in their respective arenas, have faced reputational and legal fallout from decades-old allegations.
While Trump’s cases are civil due to expired criminal statutes, Diddy’s situation includes active federal investigations and criminal implications, along with over 60 civil lawsuits alleging rape and abuse spanning back to the early 1990s.
In May 2023, a New York jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in a department store during the 1990s.
Though not found liable for rape under the state’s legal definition at the time, the jury determined he forcibly penetrated her with his fingers, causing pain and lasting trauma.
The court awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for the assault and defamation. In January 2024, a separate jury awarded Carroll an additional $83.3 million following Trump’s continued bashing and public denials of her claims.
Diddy’s trial is expected to wrap up sometime in July.
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