Mike Tyson has revealed that he delivered a letter from Sean “Diddy” Combs to Donald Trump, adding another unexpected chapter to the imprisoned music mogul’s ongoing pursuit of a presidential pardon.
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During an October 8 appearance on SiriusXM’s “Andy Cohen Live,” the former heavyweight champion confirmed that Combs personally contacted him from prison and requested his assistance in getting a message to Trump.
According to SiriusXM’s coverage of the interview, Tyson remains supportive of Combs despite the criminal case that resulted in his incarceration.
“Yeah, I’m friendly with Puff,” Tyson told Cohen. “I was surprised that they went through so many lengths to get him. They used a 110-year-old rule to get him. That case 110 years ago, but they used it to get him. Can you imagine that? They took a 110-year-old case to get him a couple of months, a couple of years ago.”
When Cohen questioned whether the two had communicated since Combs entered prison, Tyson acknowledged speaking with him.
“Well, I spoke with him once on the phone, yes,” Tyson explained. “He wanted me to give a letter to the president.”
Cohen followed up, asking, “And did you give a letter to the president from him?”
“I did what he told me to do, yes,” Tyson responded.
Tyson did not disclose the letter’s contents, when he delivered it, or whether Trump personally read it. However, the admission adds another layer to the Diddy pardon campaign, particularly given Tyson’s longstanding access to Trump.
Their relationship stretches back nearly four decades. According to a 1988 Associated Press report published by the Los Angeles Times, Trump served as an adviser to Tyson during his championship years. Trump also helped promote major boxing events at his Atlantic City properties.
Their connection continued beyond boxing. The Washington Post documented Trump’s public defense of Tyson following his 1992 rape conviction. Tyson later supported Trump’s 2016 campaign, giving the businessman a high-profile endorsement.
That history helps explain why Combs may have viewed Tyson as someone capable of getting his request directly into Trump’s orbit.
Interestingly, Combs also shared a friendly relationship with Trump long before their political differences emerged.
According to The Washington Post, Trump described Combs as a “good friend of mine” during a 2012 episode of “The Apprentice.” In 2015, Combs similarly acknowledged their friendship, praising Trump’s work ethic.
However, their relationship changed as Trump’s political career progressed.
During the 2020 election, Combs publicly supported Joe Biden and criticized Trump’s leadership. In an interview with Charlamagne Tha God, Combs declared, “White men like Trump need to be banished. That way of thinking is real dangerous.”
Those comments later became a significant issue in the Diddy pardon discussion.
During an August 2025 Newsmax interview, Trump acknowledged their previous friendship but suggested that Combs’ political criticism made granting clemency more difficult.
By then, Combs’ representatives had already pursued assistance from the administration.
In an August 2025 CNN interview, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland confirmed that members of Combs’ team had contacted Trump administration officials about a possible pardon.
“It’s my understanding that we’ve reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon,” Westmoreland explained.
However, lead defense attorney Marc Agnifilo separately told CBS News that he had not personally participated in those conversations.
The effort continued after Combs received his sentence.
On October 6, 2025, Trump publicly confirmed receiving a pardon request, telling reporters, “I call him Puff Daddy, [he] has asked me for a pardon,” according to ABC News.
In January 2026, Trump again acknowledged the request during an interview with The New York Times. Trump said Combs had contacted him through a letter but indicated he did not intend to grant a pardon.
It remains unclear whether the letter Tyson delivered was the same correspondence Trump previously acknowledged or another attempt to secure clemency.
Combs is currently serving a 50-month federal prison sentence after a jury convicted him in July 2025 on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted of the more serious sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.
The law Tyson referenced is the Mann Act, a federal statute enacted in 1910, according to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute. The conviction involved the modern application of that statute, not a century-old criminal case.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reported on October 8 that Combs’ projected prison release date had shifted to March 2, 2028. That date remains subject to change.
Although Tyson’s involvement demonstrates that Combs still has influential supporters willing to advocate for him, Trump has not publicly reversed his position on clemency. For now, the music mogul’s latest strategy faces the same unanswered question as his earlier requests: whether personal connections can overcome Trump’s stated reluctance to grant him a pardon.
