Sean Diddy Combs' lawyers not behind requesting pardon from Trump

Sean Diddy Combs' legal team confirmed earlier this week that US President Donald Trump has been approached for a pardon for the rapper.

However, sources close to the matter argue that it is not Combs' legal team that has taken the initiative but the rapper's close circle.

“People in Diddy’s world and orbit are reaching out to his administration for a pardon, but not his legal team,” one source close to the music mogul told People Magazine after Combs' lawyer Nicole Westmoreland's interview with CNN aired on August 5.

“They have nothing to do with it — but they are aware it’s happening.”

The approach to seek a presidential pardon for the rapper comes less than two months before his sentencing on conviction of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

“It’s my understanding that we’ve reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon,” Westmoreland, a member of Combs’ legal team, told CNN on Tuesday.

“He is a very hopeful person, and I believe that he remains hopeful,” she added of how Combs feels about the possibility of a pardon from the president.

Meanwhile, a White House official said they “ will not comment on the existence or nonexistence of any clemency request.”

When asked earlier this year whether he’d consider pardoning Combs, Trump told reporters, “If I think someone was mistreated, it wouldn’t matter whether they like me or not,” he told Newsmax in May.

However, he acknowledged that Combs’ outspoken criticism during his presidency complicates the decision. “More likely a ‘no’ for Combs?” Newsmax asked in May, to which he replied, “I would say so.”

Combs' sentencing is now set for October 3, and he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.