R. KELLY ASKED TRUMP TO CUT HIS 31-YEAR PRISON TERM
The R. Kelly commutation request to President Donald Trump is listed as pending, but a White House official called it a “random submission.”
Robert Sylvester Kelly asked Trump to commute his federal prison sentence. The request went to the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, and its website showed the status as “pending” on July 15, 2026, CBS Chicago reported.
Kelly asked for a commutation, not a full pardon. A commutation would reduce the sentence, but the underlying convictions would not be erased, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The public clemency record did not include the documents filed with the request, so Kelly’s stated grounds for a shorter sentence are not public.
Kelly is serving a combined 31-year federal term in North Carolina, USA TODAY reported.
Beau Brindley, Kelly’s attorney, told PEOPLE in an earlier interview that the defense saw Trump as the person who could help. “We believe that President Trump is the only person with the courage to help us,” Brindley said.
The convictions and the sentence
Prosecutors said Kelly led a criminal enterprise that recruited women and underage girls for illegal sexual activity and pornography production.
Kelly was convicted in 2021 in a federal case in New York involving racketeering and sex trafficking. He was convicted in 2022 in a separate federal case in Chicago involving child pornography charges, and USA TODAY reported he was also convicted on enticement charges.
He received 30 years in the New York case and 20 years in the Chicago case. Most of the Chicago sentence runs concurrent, with one additional year to be served consecutively.
Kelly’s lawyer has also made allegations about his time in prison. PEOPLE reported that the lawyer sought a new trial, alleging prison guards at FCI Butner in North Carolina plotted to murder Kelly.
The lawyer also alleged that federal authorities tried to intercept Kelly’s mail to pressure witnesses and recruited a white supremacist to kill him in prison.
Where the case stands
A federal judge in Chicago had not ruled on Kelly’s new-trial motion at the time of Rolling Stone’s report. His request for bond while awaiting that ruling was denied.
A pending clemency request is not a sign it will be granted, and the White House official said the president is the ultimate decision-maker.
On October 15, 2026, Rolling Stone reported the official’s statement on Kelly’s filing. “This appears to be a random submission through the public portal which anyone can submit an application through,” the official said.
“The submission of a pardon request should not be interpreted to mean anything other than an individual has chosen to submit a request,” the official said. “The team that reviews clemency requests at the White House is not tracking this request at this time.”
