President Donald Trump signaled yesterday to Fox News that he is on the verge of wiping out the July criminal contempt of court conviction of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio told Fox reporter Gregg Jarrett that he is "happy (Trump) understands the case,” and “I would accept the pardon because I am 100 percent not guilty.”
In an exclusive conversation with Jarrett, the President said he is "seriously considering a pardon for Sheriff Arpaio. He has done a lot in the fight against illegal immigration. He’s a great American patriot and I hate to see what has happened to him.”
(Some of) Arpaio's attorneys told Arizona's Politics today that they have no comment on these Presidential comments, and did not answer other questions about the case and legal fees.
The Court has set the sentencing hearing for October 5, and Arpaio and his counsel have promised appeals.
Jarrett notes today that the President could wait for the appeals process to unwind, but that Trump's comments tease a more impatient decision. “I might do it right away, maybe early this week. I am seriously thinking about it,” he said.
The Department of Justice today declined to answer Arizona's Politics' questions about whether anyone from the White House has reached out to Attorney General Jeff Sessions - or, anyone in the DOJ - about either last month's conviction and/or a possible pardon.
While neither Arpaio nor his counsel provided additional comment to Arizona's Politics, we did receive a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona reacting to the comments. The ACLU-Arizona has been a key player in the long-running legal action against Arpaio and the MCSO, including the Melendres case that led to the contempt of court charges.
ACLU-Arizona Deputy Legal Director Cecilia Wang said "President Trump would be literally pardoning Joe Arpaio’s flagrant violation of federal court orders that prohibited the illegal detention of Latinos. He would undo a conviction secured by his own career attorneys at the Justice Department. Make no mistake: This would be an official presidential endorsement of racism.”
Trump's pardon comments are not totally out of the blue. Arpaio's allies' calls for a pardon have increased since the July 31 conviction, and Arpaio has quietly fanned the talk while claiming that he is not asking for one from the President.
Arizona's Politics broke the story last week that rather than disburse the $462,000 leftover in his unsuccessful campaign account, Arpaio chose to file a new Statement of Organization. Because no 2016 committees are permitted to exist under Arizona law, the new committee preserves that bank account for future efforts, including the 2020 election cycle should the 85-year old Arpaio choose to run a redemption campaign.
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