Donald Trump reveals when and how he would consider pardoning Sean ‘Diddy' Combs
Donald Trump, speaking to reporters Friday afternoon, said he'd be open to considering a presidential pardon for Sean 'Diddy' Combs, but there's some catch.
The POTUS didn't confirm any action is currently in motion but said, 'I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated,' when asked whether he'd consider a pardon for Diddy. 'It's not a popularity contest,' Trump added. 'Whether they like me or don't like me, it wouldn't have any impact on me.'
Notably, this comes when Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked Trump about his previous ties to Diddy and whether that history might influence a potential pardon. 'I know people are thinking about it. I know that they're thinking about it. I think people have been very close to asking,' Trump noted.
ALSO READ| When Diddy met Britney: Resurfaced pics show the pair partying before Spears' shocking MTV VMAs 2007 performance
'First of all, I'd look at what's happening, and I haven't been watching it too closely, although it's certainly getting a lot of coverage,' Trump responded to Doocy's pressing questions.
The disgraced music mogul is currently facing serious federal charges outlined in an indictment unsealed on 17 September. The list includes racketeering conspiracy under the RICO statute, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transporting individuals for prostitution.
If convicted, Combs could be sentenced to at least 15 years in prison, with the possibility of life behind bars.
Combs has denied all the charges as the ongoing trial has included disturbing allegations from multiple witnesses involving rape, physical abuse, forced labor, and drug trafficking.
The Prez clarified in front of the reporters, 'I haven't seen him. I haven't spoken to him in years.' He then recalled when Diddy 'used to really like me a lot,' but when 'I think when I ran for politics … that relationship busted up.'
Trump even recalled reading 'some little bit nasty statements in the paper all of a sudden.'
ALSO READ| Second woman tells jury Sean 'Diddy' Combs raped her
'You become a much different person when you run for politics, and you do what's right,' Trump explained. 'I could do other things, and I'm sure he'd like me, and I'm sure other people would like me, but it wouldn't be as good for our country.'
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Mint
an hour ago
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Harvard has trained so many Chinese Communist officials, they call it their ‘party school'
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Syracuse's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, for instance, helped set up postgraduate programs in public administration at Chinese universities in the early 2000s. Beyond the U.S., Chinese officials have also flocked to leading universities in countries including Singapore, Japan and the U.K. Singapore's Nanyang Technological University is among the most popular, having trained thousands of Chinese officials since the early 1990s, mostly through postgraduate programs colloquially known as the 'Mayors' Class." Li Yuanchao, shown during his time as China's vice president, went to Harvard Kennedy School in 2002. Harvard enjoys a sterling reputation among Chinese officials thanks to its record in training highflying bureaucrats who went on to take senior government roles and, in some cases, join the party's elite Politburo. Some observers dubbed Harvard a de facto 'party school," as the party's own training academies for promising bureaucrats are known. 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'So, when I come here again today, I want to say: 'Thank you, Harvard!'" Liu He, a retired vice premier who was Xi's top trade negotiator in talks with the first Trump administration, earned a master's degree in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School in 1995. Current Politburo member and senior legislator Li Hongzhong attended a short-term program at Harvard in 1999. Liu He, seen during a 2023 meeting with then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, attended Harvard in the 1990s. While Harvard Kennedy School hosted Chinese students as early as the 1980s, Beijing started sending officials for mid-career training there in a more organized manner in the following decade, according to Chinese media reports. One program, launched in 1998, offered fellowships and executive training courses to around 20 senior officials each year. In the early 2000s, Harvard launched another program, 'China's Leaders in Development," through which Chinese officials would undergo a weekslong training course split between Harvard and Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University. The program was designed to 'help prepare senior local and central Chinese government officials to more effectively address the ongoing challenges of China's national reforms," according to Harvard. According to newsletters published by the Kennedy School's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, the Harvard segment of the program has featured classes on subjects including public management, economic development and social policy, as well as visits to U.S. government organizations. Some children of top Communist Party officials have also attended Harvard for undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Xi's daughter, Mingze, attended Harvard as an undergraduate in the early 2010s under an assumed name, though Harvard administrators and some faculty members were aware of her identity. She had enrolled while her father was China's vice president and leader-in-waiting and graduated after he took power. Other Harvard alumni with elite backgrounds include Alvin Jiang, a grandson of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, as well as Bo Guagua, the son of the former Politburo member Bo Xilai. Bo Guagua, son of former politician Bo Xilai, walks offstage after receiving his Harvard master's degree in 2012. Bo Guagua attended Harvard Kennedy School from 2010 to 2012 and earned a master's degree in public policy. His father was purged in 2012 and was sentenced to life imprisonment the following year on charges of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power. Harvard's China connections have also helped some of its top scholars gain access in Beijing. Graham Allison, a former dean of Harvard Kennedy School, has been granted meetings with Xi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi over the past year, during which the professor spoke about his views on U.S.-China relations. Write to Chun Han Wong at
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First Post
2 hours ago
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'Catastrophic' job losses: Canada's steel industry trembles as Trump announces sharp tariff rise
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India.com
2 hours ago
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American sixth generation F-47 fighter jet may get its first buyer, it's not India or Saudi Arabia but.., it's lethal because...
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