Diddy Appeals 50‑Month Sentence Amid Pardon Reports

Sean “Diddy” Combs was convicted in July on two counts of transportation for prostitution under the Mann Act and on Oct. 3 was sentenced by Judge Arun Subramanian to 50 months in federal prison, five years of supervised release, and a $500,000 fine with conditions including lifetime sex‑offender registration, location reporting, drug testing, travel and employment restrictions, and limits on contact with victims. Jurors acquitted him of racketeering and sex‑trafficking charges, but the judge relied on acquitted conduct in imposing the sentence — a practice his lawyers say raises constitutional concerns. On Oct. 20 his lawyers filed a notice of appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit challenging the conviction and sentence on multiple grounds, including whether the Mann Act applies and the judge’s reliance on acquitted conduct; appellate counsel Alexandra Shapiro is expected to file briefs in the coming weeks. Combs remains held in the Special Housing Unit at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and has requested transfer to a lower‑security federal facility in New Jersey pending Bureau of Prisons placement. Media reports citing anonymous White House sources said President Trump was weighing a commutation or pardon, accounts that were denied by a White House spokesperson who called them “zero truth.” Legal observers say a commutation could shorten or erase the term without vacating the conviction, while a successful appeal could overturn the conviction itself, leaving the case subject to both legal and political scrutiny.