Sean “Diddy” Combs might become loyal to Donald Trump if the president issued him a pardon, his lawyer Mark Geragos told TMZ’s “2 Angry Men” podcast in an interview published Saturday. That’s because Trump and Combs now share “an affinity” since they’ve both been through the legal process — “It would not surprise me to hear Sean say, ‘I now get it. I understand it and I was wrong then.’”
Trump previously described Combs as “very hostile” to his election run and expressed doubt about helping him in the present. The disgraced music mogul was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution in July (and not guilty of racketeering conspiracy or sex trafficking).
“I don’t know that I would say he’s pledging loyalty, but I think he would probably say I now get what he went through,” Geragoes added. He was also asked if there’s been “a discussion” with Combs about how he would speak to the public about Trump if a pardon was on the table.
“Well, I don’t know that there’s ever been that discussion. I can’t go that far,” Geragos insisted, before later adding: “I think people are somewhat naive about what happens when you’re sitting in custody, having been tried, rolling the dice, winning, but still in custody. I just think there’s a naive aspect to the idea that you wouldn’t understand or have an affinity for somebody else who’s been through the system.”
This week, Combs’ defense team confirmed they had reached out to the Trump administration to discuss whether or not a pardon is a possibility. “It’s my understanding that we’ve reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon,” Nicole Westmoreland told CNN on Tuesday, while lead attorney Marc Agnifilo indicated to CBS News on Thursday that he was not involved.
The White House similarly declined to comment to CBS on speculation about any potential pardon, noting that a decision would ultimately come directly from Trump himself.
Combs remains behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn ahead of his October sentencing.
