Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team is urging a federal judge to recommend the founder of Bad Boy Records be transferred to FCI Fort Dix, a low-security federal prison in New Jersey with a residential drug treatment program.
The request to U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian of the Southern District of New York came Monday, days after Combs was sentenced to four years and two months in prison on federal charges and fined $500,000.
In a separate development, President Donald Trump confirmed to reporters that Combs had requested a presidential pardon, though Trump did not indicate whether he would grant it.
Why It Matters
Combs’ sentencing Friday capped a federal case featuring testimony about violence, drugs and sexual encounters. While he was acquitted of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have resulted in a life sentence, his conviction and imprisonment represent a dramatic fall for the music icon.
What To Know
In the Oval Office on Monday, Trump confirmed to reporters that Combs had requested a presidential pardon. “A lot of people have asked me for pardons. I call him Puff Daddy,” Trump said. The president has the constitutional authority to grant pardons for federal offenses, though presidential pardons for those recently convicted are relatively uncommon, particularly in cases involving sex-related federal crimes.
The disgraced hip-hop mogul was convicted in July under the federal Mann Act, which prohibits transporting people across state lines for sexual crimes. He has been detained at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center since his September 2024 arrest, and that time will be credited toward his sentence, potentially allowing release in approximately three years.
FCI Fort Dix, about 64 miles southwest of New York City on the grounds of joint military base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is the largest single federal prison by population, with nearly 3,900 inmates. The facility offers a residential drug treatment program that Combs’ attorney, Teny Geragos, argues would help him “address drug abuse issues and to maximize family visitation and rehabilitative efforts.”
While judges can recommend prison placements, the final decision rests with the Bureau of Prisons, which considers factors including offense severity, required security level and inmates’ programming needs.
The facility has housed numerous high-profile inmates, including mobsters, drug traffickers, corrupt politicians, and “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli. It has also faced security issues, including a 2021 stabbing and 2019 arrests related to drone-smuggled contraband.
What People Are Saying
Combs, in a letter to Subramanian: “I thank God that I’m stronger, wiser, clean, clear and sober… I’m committed to the journey of remaining a drug free, non-violent and peaceful person.”
What Happens Next?
Subramanian has not yet ruled on the Fort Dix placement recommendation. Combs’ attorneys also announced on Saturday they would be appealing his sentence.
Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.
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