EXCLUSIVE: A potential presidential pardon is still in the mix for Sean Combs, as the Grammy winner and former Donald Trump pal stares down a four-year prison stint.
At the same time, after Combs complained at length at his sentencing hearing last week about the conditions at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, the Bad Boy Records founder now wants to be relocated to a much cushier low-security facility in New Jersey.
“On behalf of Mr. Combs, we respectfully request that the Court strongly recommend a designation facility to the Bureau of Prisons in Mr. Combs’ Judgment. In order to address drug abuse issues and to maximize family visitation and rehabilitative efforts, we request that the Court strongly recommend to the Bureau of Prisons that Mr. Combs be placed at FCI Fort Dix for RDAP purposes and any other available educational and occupational programs,” states a short October 6 letter from defense attorney Teny Geragos to Judge Arun Subramanian.
With a certain commander-in-chief wading back into the Diddy drama this week, the judge has not issued a response to the request as of this morning.
After an exhaustive hearing on October 3, with presentations from both the defense and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, the 55-year-old Combs was sentenced to 50 months in prison, a $500,000 fine (the maximum) and five years of supervised release.
The letter and Judge Subramanian’s current silence sits there as Donald Trump once again Monday addressed the matter of a possible pardon for his one-time pal Combs. “A lot of people have asked me for pardons,” Trump said in the midst of a wide-ranging and freewheeling October 6 press conference. “I call him Puff Daddy. He has asked me for a pardon.”
As Deadline exclusively reported back in late July, Trump has been “seriously considering” a presidential reprieve for Combs. Subsequently, citing political criticism from his party pal, the former Apprentice host walked back the idea of giving the “half-innocent” Combs his freedom. However, despite outcry from the likes of Megyn Kelly and 50 Cent, Trump has never abandoned the notion, I hear from multiple insiders.
“The conversation is ongoing, for what it’s worth right now,” a source close to events told Deadline today about a pardon coming for Combs. “It’s not dead, it’s not happening yet, it’s still under discussion,” he added with obvious optimism.
Contacted by Deadline, reps for Combs had “no comment” on any presidential pardon. The White House did not respond to request for comment on Trump issuing a pardon and the status of the matter.
(L-R) Sean Combs, Donald Trump & Melania Trump on February 6, 2008 in New York City (Credit: Getty)
Photo by JOE SCHILDHORN/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Following a nearly eight-week trial in Lower Manhattan earlier this year, the much-accused “All About the Benjamins” performer was found guilty by a NYC jury on July 2 on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, and acquitted of the much harsher sex-trafficking and racketeer charges. In the ensuing months, after failed bids for bail and a new trial, the defense recommended a sentence of 14 months for Combs, with time served since his September 2024 arrest, and the prosecution sought 11 years.
Obviously neither got their wish. The Geragos and Marc Agnifilo-led defense plan to appeal the sentence, though nothing has been filed as of this week.
About 40 miles from Philadelphia and the former home of ex-Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO and mega-Wu Tang Clan fan Martin Shkreli, who was released in May 2022, FCI Fort Dix houses just over 4,000 inmates at present. There is a medium security facility right next to the lower security venue that Combs wants to be transferred to.
If approved, Combs’ move to the Garden State facility would be a distinct upgrade for the self-proclaimed recovering drug addict The once wealth-flouting Diddy has been living in less than glamorous conditions the past year in a shared cell with over a dozen other prisoners at the MDC.
The supposed hardship Combs is under was brought into the spotlight and the courtroom on October 3 in defense lawyer Brian Steel’s presentation to Judge Subramanian. Drawing from previously filed sentencing recommendations and an October 2 letter from Diddy himself to the judge, Steel described Combs as being under constant threat from other inmates due to his high profile and wealth. In fact, with no documentation presented, Steel spoke of a recent attempted stabbing of his client that was prevented by a MDC guard.
Hoping for both a pardon and a move to FCI Fort Dix, Combs remains at the Metropolitan Detention Center — where he has been teaching a personal growth and entrepreneurship course for fellow inmates.
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