Nicole Westmoreland, the lawyer for Sean “Diddy” Combs, confirms that her team have had conversations with the Trump administration on a potential pardon.

New York

Sean 'Diddy' Combs' attorney, Nicole Westmoreland, confirmed in an interview that the legal team has reached out to the Trump administration about a possible pardon following Combs' conviction on prostitution offenses. While Combs was acquitted of the most serious federal sex trafficking charges, his team has been in contact with the administration, though President Trump has indicated a pardon is unlikely due to a past break in their relationship.

Westmoreland also discussed the defense's strategy during the trial, emphasizing their focus on truthfulness, which she believes contributed to the acquittal on major charges. Despite the criminal trial outcome, Combs still faces around 70 civil allegations, which remain active in the courts. His legal team continues to pursue bail and is seeking either a full acquittal or a new trial.

‘Diddy’s’ lawyer confirms they’ve reached out to Trump about pardon

We have an exclusive interview for you in our Law and Justice lead. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister just sat down with Nicole Westmoreland. She is one of the top attorneys for Sean Diddy Combs for Westmoreland's very first interview since Diddy was acquitted of the most serious charges in his federal sex trafficking trial but convicted on prostitution offenses. Elizabeth Wagmeister joins us now. Elizabeth, let's start with the major headline that Westmoreland just told you about conversations that they are attempting with the Trump administration about a possible pardon. Yeah, so there have been many reports recently that the Trump administration has been seriously considering a pardon. Now, I had heard from my sources, Jake, that those reports were premature and the president actually commented on this just days ago. Take a look at what Nicole told me. Have people in Sean Combs' orbit, have they had conversations with the Trump administration? Yes, my understanding is that we have reached out. Reached out is one thing, having a conversation is another. Do you know if there have been active conversations about a pardon? Yes, we've, it's my understanding that we've reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon. President Trump, when he was asked about this pardon, he said, quote, I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great and he seemed like a nice guy. I didn't know him well, but when I ran for office he was very hostile. And the president indicated that a pardon is likely not on the table because of that break in his relationship with Mr. Combs years ago. How is he feeling now about the chances of a pardon given the president's commentary? I think that Mr. Combs is a very hopeful person and I believe that he remains hopeful. Now, Jake, the White House responded to us when we reached out to comment and they said that they will not comment on the existence or non-existence of any clemency request. And Elizabeth, you also asked Westmoreland about the defense team's strategy during the trial. Tell us about that. Yes, we talked in great length about the strategy during the trial because, of course, as you said, Sean Combs, he was acquitted on the most serious charges. So take a look at what she said about the strategy from day one, Jake. This verdict was in no uncertain terms a victory for the defense. Talk about that strategy from day one to come out of the gate and say he is a domestic abuser, but that is not what he is on trial for here. So, you know, the strategy was to just tell the truth. That's really what we decided to just tell the truth. We didn't need a creative story. We didn't need to overreach. We knew that telling the truth meant not guilty. We knew that he had not sex trafficked anyone, and we knew that RICO was absurd. So we figured, hey, we'll tell the truth and that will pay off. And I believe that for the most part, that strategy worked. He is still facing around 70 civil allegations from men, from women, from people who allege that they were minors at the time across decades with horrific accusations of being drugged, of being sexually assaulted. Each of those cases does have to play through the courts individually. So I understand that he denies them, but those are still active cases. True. But let me say this to you. We are talking about the United States government. This is the federal government. It doesn't really get any stronger than that. And so they obviously fully investigated Mr. Combs and obviously threw the book at him. And so if you think for a second, if the government really thought that there were minors out there hanging in the balance, if the government really thought that there was drugs in the baby oil or something of that nature, do you think the government just wouldn't have brought that up in a full-fledged criminal trial? Absolutely not. So that's not even logical. And so if the government had, if there was any real evidence of those allegations, we would have heard all about it in the criminal trial. Now, Jay, Combs' team has made numerous attempts at bail. Just yesterday, the judge denying him bail. His sentencing is set for October 3rd. His attorney there told me that they are disappointed in the decision for the judge to deny bail, but they do have a pending motion asking for the judge to fully acquit Sean Combs or to give him a new trial. And Nicole told me that she believes that the judge should grant that.

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