Sean "Diddy" Combs, right, accepts an award from the Rush Philanthropic Foundation for his efforts to support public education and dedication to youth and social activism, from Donald Trump, center, and his wife Melania Trump at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 11, 2005.

Sean "Diddy" Combs won't be walking free any time soon, at least according to the White House.

Media speculation emerged on Monday, Oct. 20, that the embattled music mogul, who was sentenced to 50 months in prison earlier this month following his sex-crimes trial, was going to have his sentence commuted, or reduced, by President Donald Trump. The president had previously acknowledged that Combs and his team had reached out to him for a presidential pardon.

TMZ reported that a "high-ranking White House official" confirmed that Trump was deliberating a commutation, adding that the president "could set Diddy free as early as this week."

However, in a statement to USA TODAY on Tuesday, Oct. 21, a White House spokesperson said there is "zero truth" to the claims in TMZ's story. "The president, not anonymous sources, is the final decider on pardons and commutations," the official added.

Combs, who was arrested in September 2024 on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, received a split verdict on July 2 that acquitted him of the most serious charges and convicted him on the two prostitution counts.

Three months later, on Oct. 3, a stoic Combs learned in court that he would be incarcerated for approximately four years. Though the federal detention center where Combs will be relocated has not been determined, he has been behind bars at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest.

The Bad Boy Records founder could be released in less than three years after receiving credit for the time he has already spent in custody.

On Monday, Combs' legal team filed a notice of appeal in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to a document obtained by USA TODAY. The details of the rapper's appeal will be submitted to the court at a later date.

What has President Trump said about Diddy's prison sentence?

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Oct. 6, three days after Combs' sentencing, that the Grammy-winning rapper had requested a pardon.

"A lot of people have asked me for pardons," Trump said at the time. "I call him Puff Daddy; he has asked me for a pardon."

This wasn't the first time Trump addressed where he stands with the music mogul. In an interview that aired Aug. 1 on Newsmax with host Rob Finnerty, Trump discussed the possibility of a presidential pardon for Combs.

Trump said he would "probably" consider pardoning Combs before pausing and revealing to Finnerty, "You know, I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great; (he) seemed like a nice guy. I didn't know him well, but when I ran for office, he was very hostile."

The Newsmax host then noted that Combs had "said some not so nice things" about the president.

"Yeah, and it's hard. You know, like you, we're human beings and we don't like to have things cloud our judgment, right?" Trump said. "But when you knew someone and you were fine, and then you run for office, and he made some terrible statements … so I don't know ... it makes it more difficult to do."

Contributing: KiMi Robinson and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diddy won't receive prison commutation from President Donald Trump, White House says

Reporting by Edward Segarra, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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