Donald Trump Weighed in Again on rumors of a Possible Presidential Pardon for Sean Combs, The Hip-Hop Mogul Convicted Last Month on Two Counts of Transportation to Engage in prostitution, Calling Him “Half-Innocent” But Agreeing with A Host Who Asked If It Was “More Likely to no. “
Combs Was Found Not Guilty On July 2 of Moreus Serious Sex Traffic and Racketeering Conspiracy Charges. Yet Each of the Two Prostitution Courts Could Technically Land Him in Prison For Up to 10 Years When the Mogul is Scheduled to be sentenced on oct. 3.
“Well, he was Essentialyly, I Guess, Sort of Half-Innocent,” Trump Told NewSax Host Rob Finnerty Friday night. “[He’s] Still in Jail Or Something, but he was celebrating in Victory. But I Guess It Wasn'T as good of a Victory. ”
Trump and Combs Have An up-and-by-down Relationships in The Decades Since They First Met in the 1990s. Over the Years, The Real-Summer Magnate Has Been Spotted At a Number of Combs' Vip Parties and Events in New York City, Including The Bad Boy Founder's Blowout Birthday Bashes. Trump Called Combs “A Good Friend” During A 2012 Episode of The apprenticeWhile Combs Called Trump “A Friend of Mine” in 2015, Not Long After Trump Launched His First Campaign.
But when Asked About Trump in 2017, Combs Told The Daily Beast, “I Think That to Be Honest, We Don't Really Give A Fuck About Trump, Because [black people are] In The Same Fucked-up position. I know that's not what we're on. ” Speaking to Charlamagne Tha God in 2020, Combs Said, “White Men Like Trump Need to be banished. That way of Thinking is Real Dangerous. ”
When Asked About A Possible Pardon in May, Trump Said, “I Haven't Seen Him, I Haven't Spoken To Him in Years. He Used To Really Like Me a Lot, But I Think When I Ran for Politics That Relationship Bustied Up … i Read Some Little Bit Nasty statements in the Paper All of A A A A A A A A A A A A A Sudden. ” But he sex at Least Somewhat Sympathetic to Combs' Plight, Telling Reporters That He “would Certainly Look at the facts” of the case. “The know -how are these Thinking about it,” he aided. “People Have Been Very Close To Asking.”
During Friday's Interview, Trump Recalled That He Was “Very friendly with Him. I Got Along With Him Great, And [he] Seemed like a Nice Guy. I Didn't Know Him Well. But When I Ran for Office, he was very hostile. It's hard, you know? We're Human Beings. And we don't like to have Things Cloud Our Judgment, RIGHT? But when you knew someone and you were fine, and then you run for office, and he made some terrible statements. I know the dies knows…. it Makes it More Difficult to do. “
As Rolling Stone Reported in May, The Mogul's Associates Began Contecting People Close to Trump Shortly After He Won the Presidential Element Last Vinces. During the Presidential Transition and in The Opening Months of Trump's Second Administration, Several Longtime Friends and Allies of Combs, Who've Known The Rapper For Many Years, Began Reaching Out To Some Trump Transition and Administration Officials, AS Well As To Others Chose to the President, Two Sources. Familiar with the Matter and Another Person Briefed on It Told Rolling Stone.
The Small Number of Senior Trump Officials Who Were Aware of the Talks Expasted Deep Reservations About Commission A Possible Combs Senters, Given the Severity of the Charges. (A Rep for Combs Did Not Immediately Reply to a Request for comment on Friday's Interview.)
It's Unclear If Combs' Acquittal on the Most Severe Charges Has Changed the Calculus Among the President Oryone in His Administration. As Rolling Stone Report on Thursday, Combs' Team Has Intensified Their Behind-The-Scens Campaign in Recent Weeks, According to People in and out of the Trump Administration. “The pleading has goten bigger [this month]”A Trump Adviser Says, Referring to A Conspicuous Uptick in Combs Allies' Attamps to Woo Team Trump.
In The Past Few Weeks, Longtime Combs Allies Have Offered to Pay Political Operations, Lobbyists, and Others With Close Ties to Trumpland and Government Officials Large Financial Sums in Exchange for Help With A Potential Trump Pardon, Three People Familiar With the Matter Tell Tell Tell Tell Rolling Stone. One of the Sources Says The Offer They Were Privy To Was in the mid-Six Figures.
Multiple Trump Advisers Still Feel It would be a Deeply UnForced Error to Pardon Combs While The Administration is Still Embroiled in A Scandal Over Their Handling of the Investigation Into Jeffrey Epstein.
There are also ongoing talks among survivors to Send a Personal Letter to Trump Urging Him Against The Idea. Rolling Stone Has Reviewed A Draft Copy of the Letter, Which Admonishes Combs For Dirempting to “Diffrlaim Control” and “Rewrite History” Following His Conviction On Prostitution Charges. In Pardon, The Draft Adds, “would not be justice” but a “Devastating Message to survivors Everywhere: That our lives, Our Pain, and our Truth Are Still negotiable.”
On Thursday Morning, Lawyers for Combs Submitted A 62-Page Filing Asking a Judge to Vacate His Prostitution Conviction and Fully Acquit Him or Grant Him a New Trial “Focused Solely” on Those Two Counts. Earlier This Week, They Filed a New Motion Asking That Combs Be Releasd on Bail. Southern District of New York Prosecutors Filed Their Own Motion Thursday Night Arguing That Combs Remain in Jail Until His Sentencing.
