Ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio found guilty of criminal contempt of court

[GMDino]

And now we will see if the law matters to Republicans.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/08/14/trump-seriously-considering-pardon-for-sheriff-joe-arpaio.html

Quote:EXCLUSIVE: President Trump may soon issue a pardon for Joe Arpaio, the colorful former Arizona sheriff who was found guilty two weeks ago of criminal contempt for defying a state judge’s order to stop traffic patrols targeting suspected undocumented immigrants. In his final years as Maricopa County sheriff, Arpaio had emerged as a leading opponent of illegal immigration.


“I am seriously considering a pardon for Sheriff Arpaio,” the president said Sunday, during a conversation with Fox News at his club in Bedminster, N.J. “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.”

Trump said the pardon could happen in the next few days, should he decide to do so.

Arpaio, 85, was convicted by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton of misdemeanor contempt of court for willfully disregarding an Arizona judge’s order in 2011 to stop the anti-immigrant traffic patrols. Arpaio had maintained the law enforcement patrols for 17 months thereafter. 

The man who built a controversial national reputation as “America’s toughest sheriff” admitted he prolonged his patrols, but insisted he did not intend to break the law because one of his former attorneys did not explain to him the full measure of restrictions contained in the court order.

He is expected to be sentenced on Oct. 5 and could face up to six months in jail. However, since he is 85 years old and has no prior convictions, some attorneys doubt he will receive any jail time.

Quote:'Is there anyone in local law enforcement who has done more to crack down on illegal immigration than Sheriff Joe?'
- President Trump

Citing his long service as “an outstanding sheriff,” the president said Arpaio is admired by many Arizona citizens who respected his tough-on-crime approach.

Arpaio’s widely publicized tactics included forcing inmates to wear pink underwear and housing them in desert tent camps where temperatures often climbed well past 100 degrees Fahrenheit. He also controversially brought back chain gains, including a voluntary chain gang for women prisoners.

Civil liberties and prisoner advocates as well as supporters of immigrants’ rights have criticized Arpaio for years, culminating in his prosecution. He lost his bid for reelection last year.

“Is there anyone in local law enforcement who has done more to crack down on illegal immigration than Sheriff Joe?” asked Trump. “He has protected people from crimes and saved lives. He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way.”

Stopping the flow of undocumented immigrants across the southern U.S. border was a central theme of the president’s campaign. Arpaio endorsed Trump in January 2016.    

Trump indicated he may move quickly should he decide to issue a presidential pardon. “I might do it right away, maybe early this week. I am seriously thinking about it.”

Trump could decide to await the outcome of an appeal by Arpaio’s lawyers who contend their client’s case should have been decided by a jury, not a judge. 

In a statement after the verdict, his attorneys stated, “The judge’s verdict is contrary to what every single witness testified in the case. Arpaio believes that a jury would have found in his favor, and that it will.”

Reached Monday for reaction to the possible pardon, Arpaio expressed surprise that Trump was aware of his legal predicament.

“I am happy he understands the case,” he told Fox News. “I would accept the pardon because I am 100 percent not guilty.” 

The former sheriff said he will continue to be a strong supporter of the president regardless of whether he receives a pardon. But he also voiced concern that a pardon might cause problems for Trump, saying, “I would never ask him for a pardon, especially if it causes heat. I don’t want to do anything that would hurt the president.”  

Trump has not granted any pardons so far in his presidency. 

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(08-14-2017, 04:57 PM)GMDino Wrote: And now we will see if the law matters to Republicans.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/08/14/trump-seriously-considering-pardon-for-sheriff-joe-arpaio.html

Obama gave clemency to both a person who willingly released hundred's of thousands of classified documents to the public and an unrepentant terrorist.  Trump pardoning Arpaio wouldn't cause the needle to move by comparison.

[GMDino]

(08-14-2017, 05:19 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Obama gave clemency to both a person who willingly released hundred's of thousands of classified documents to the public and an unrepentant terrorist.  Trump pardoning Arpaio wouldn't cause the needle to move by comparison.

Oddly two wrongs don't make a right.  

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(08-14-2017, 05:33 PM)GMDino Wrote: Oddly two wrongs don't make a right.  

Hardly news, I'm merely asking for consistency.  Many think Manning deserved to be pardoned as she believed she was doing the right thing.  This exact argument could easily be used in a defense of Arpaio.  Essentially, the point I'm making is that if you didn't criticize Obama for granting clemency to Manning and POS terrorist man then you have no ground to stand on to criticize Trump for a potential pardon of Arpaio.

[GMDino]

(08-14-2017, 05:54 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Hardly news, I'm merely asking for consistency.  Many think Manning deserved to be pardoned as she believed she was doing the right thing.  This exact argument could easily be used in a defense of Arpaio.  Essentially, the point I'm making is that if you didn't criticize Obama for granting clemency to Manning and POS terrorist man then you have no ground to stand on to criticize Trump for a potential pardon of Arpaio.

Huh.  Well thanks for the opinion. 

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(08-14-2017, 06:00 PM)GMDino Wrote: Huh.  Well thanks for the opinion. 

You got it.  I made the (mistaken?) assumption that you were inviting discussion on the topic you deemed important enough to start a thread about it.  My bad.

[StLucieBengal]

(08-04-2017, 06:21 PM)Bengalzona Wrote: Sen. Jeff Flake (R - AZ) is in hot water with the Trump crowd right now, which is interesting. Flake has voted along with the Trump crew 93.5% of the time.

Guess 93.5% of the time isn't "good enough", eh.

Jeff flake is pretty moderate. He ran on being a conservative and has betrayed conservatives on his voting record.

There are things I like about trump but honestly most of his policy beliefs are too liberal for me. The dirty little secret is that the alt right is actually pretty liberal policy wise.

[StLucieBengal]

(08-14-2017, 07:09 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: You got it.  I made the (mistaken?) assumption that you were inviting discussion on the topic you deemed important enough to start a thread about it.  My bad.

He never wants a discussion.

[Bengalzona]

(08-14-2017, 08:02 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: Jeff flake is pretty moderate.   He ran on being a conservative and has betrayed conservatives on his voting record.  

There are things I like about trump but honestly most of his policy beliefs are too liberal for me.    The dirty little secret is that the alt right is actually pretty liberal policy wise.

Fascinating.

As I said before, I guess voting along with Trump 93.5% of the time isn't good enough for some people. Which is okay by me. The Democrats are fielding an extremely popular candidate against him or whatever nutcase the Trump crowd are trying to push.

[StLucieBengal]

(08-14-2017, 09:25 PM)Bengalzona Wrote: Fascinating.

As I said before, I guess voting along with Trump 93.5% of the time isn't good enough for some people. Which is okay by me. The Democrats are fielding an extremely popular candidate against him or whatever nutcase the Trump crowd are trying to push.

Trump is a liberal. The only reason I can stomach voting for him was because I knew Hillary was a disaster and he has a chance to deregulate and get something tough on immigration. The raise act is exactly what I was hoping.

If I had my way it would be president Rand Paul or Ted Cruz. Unfortunately both are weak on immigration.... which is a big issue for me.

[StLucieBengal]

Continuing on that thought...... it amazes me that the dems are trying to slam trump the way they are considering he would probably rubber stamp the more liberal policies. Which begs the question are they even a liberal party any longer?

I think trump wins re-election and if the establishment tries to run a Kasich to challenge trump and loses.... I wonder if they break off into a more centrist party. They certainly have the money.

[Bengalzona]

(08-14-2017, 10:23 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: Trump is a liberal.   The only reason I can stomach voting for him was because I knew Hillary was a disaster and he has a chance to deregulate and get something tough on immigration.    The raise act is exactly what I was hoping.  

If I had my way it would be president Rand Paul or Ted Cruz.    Unfortunately both are weak on immigration.... which is a big issue for me.

I think anyone who likes deregulation deserves all the deregulation they get. Let that Genie out of the bottle there, buddy!

[StLucieBengal]

(08-15-2017, 12:36 AM)Bengalzona Wrote: I think anyone who likes deregulation deserves all the deregulation they get. Let that Genie out of the bottle there, buddy!

We have so much regulation on top of regulation to fix the regulation. I would love a total deregulation then revote regulation into effect. And make these regs something you have to vote for every ten years. Also get rid of these unelected regulatory machines. The politicians don't want to take a hard vote but want some unelected guy writing the regulations. This is why we have all this nonsense on top of nonsense.

I want them to have to vote and go on the record.

We need some regulations but this would keep the overall amount of regs In check. Which I believe we need.

[Vas Deferens]

Going to be fun to see some of these climate change denying land owners beg for loan clemency. Hope their kids can swim out of the hell their parents caused

In the name of the father...

[GMDino]

Trump retweeted a FOX news story about him thinking about pardoning Joe.

FOX NEWS EXCLUSIVE: President Trump 'seriously considering' a pardon for ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio https://t.co/Rgw8l7i9Xl

— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) August 14, 2017

The best writers in the world couldn't create an egomaniac character like the current POTUS that also complete lacks a sense of irony.

[Vas Deferens]

(08-15-2017, 10:46 AM)GMDino Wrote: Trump retweeted a FOX news story about him thinking about pardoning Joe.

FOX NEWS EXCLUSIVE: President Trump 'seriously considering' a pardon for ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio https://t.co/Rgw8l7i9Xl

— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) August 14, 2017

The best writers in the world couldn't create an egomaniac character like the current POTUS that also complete lacks a sense of irony.

He's also nearly illiterate as he retweeted a guy calling him a fascist.

This is the guy some people are still defending. A gd idiot.

[GMDino]

(08-15-2017, 03:06 PM)Vas Deferens Wrote: He's also nearly illiterate as he retweeted a guy calling him a fascist.  

This is the guy some people are still defending.   A gd idiot.

Just shared the THREE tweets the POTUS rewtweeted that had to be taken down...before noon today...in the "Things Trump says..." thread.

[GMDino]

At 10pm on a Friday night...with a Hurricane about to hit Texas the POTUS released the following tweet:

I am pleased to inform you that I have just granted a full Pardon to 85 year old American patriot Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He kept Arizona safe!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2017

That should tell you everything you need to know.

Quote: President Trump has pardoned former Sheriff Joe Arpaio from his criminal contempt conviction, removing the only legal consequences the lawman faced stemming from a racial-profiling suit.


The White House announced the pardon Friday evening in a news release that recounted Arpaio's lengthy career of "admirable service" in federal and local law enforcement and called him "a worthy candidate for a Presidential pardon."

Reached moments after the announcement, Arpaio said, "I'm very appreciative of the president issuing that pardon. It shows how he backs up law enforcement."

Arpaio told The Arizona Republic he learned of the pardon at Friday afternoon from his lawyer, who visited him at Arpaio's Phoenix-area home. The lawyer delivered Arpaio's wife, Ava, a birthday gift, and "the other gift was the pardon," said Arpaio, who said they planned to celebrate over a dinner of spaghetti with calamari and red wine at a favorite Italian restaurant.

Quote:[/url]

 Follow
Joe Arpaio @RealSheriffJoe
Thank you @realdonaldtrump for seeing my conviction for what it is: a political witch hunt by holdovers in the Obama justice department!
9:07 PM - Aug 25, 2017

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Arpaio hints at comeback

Arpaio, who lost a 2016 re-election bid ending 24 years in office, also hinted at a political comeback, "I don't know what I'm going to do politically. I told my wife that I was through with politics. But now I've decided I'm not through with politics because of what's happening. I didn't ask for a pardon. It has nothing to do with a pardon. I've been saying this for the last couple of months. I've got a lot to offer."

Arpaio, 85, was convicted of criminal contempt on July 31, and was scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 5. He faced up to six months in jail. 

But Trump had hinted recently that a pardon would be forthcoming, including at his Tuesday rally in Phoenix.

Trump and Arpaio have enjoyed a cozy relationship since the early days of Trump’s campaign. They share a hardline stance on immigration, and Arpaio was one of the earliest public figures to offer Trump his full-throated endorsement.

Weeks of speculation
Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt on July 31, broached the topic of a presidential pardon himself two weeks later. He wondered aloud to a conservative blog where Trump was in his time of need, and told The Arizona Republic and other media outlets that he would welcome the relief.

Many Democrats and members of local immigrant communities voiced dismay Friday at word of the pardon. 

"Today’s announcement from President Trump is yet another display of disrespect to the Latino community in Arizona. During Joe Arpaio’s 24 years as the sheriff in Maricopa County, he abused his position of authority to drive a personal agenda that promoted racism," said members of the Arizona Latino Legislative Caucus.

More: Analysis: Trump's bold Joe Arpaio pardon breaks with presidential tradition
More: With Joe Arpaio free, 5 things to know about presidential pardons

Carlos Garcia, director of the immigrants rights group Puente, said by pardoning Arpaio Trump is showing he supports racial profiling.
Puente organized in 2007 during the height of Arpaio’s immigration crackdown on day laborers. Many of Puente’s hundreds of members were detained during his workplace raids and sent to immigration detention.

When the criminal contempt charges against Arpaio were announced they had felt “a little vindicated,” Garcia said.

Trump’s pardon is an insult to victims of Arpaio’s policing practices, he said. “Now he’s just spitting in their face, disregarding their pain and how they suffered in the hands of Arpaio.

U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., said, "I am dismayed by the President's decision to pardon Joe Arpaio. Arpaio hurt Arizonans and cost taxpayers a great amount of grief and money. He should be held accountable. No one is above the law."

'He's gonna be just fine'

The pardon seemed all but inevitable after Trump's fiery speech at the Phoenix Convention Center.

“Was Sheriff Joe convicted for doing his job?” Trump asked the crowd, which was answered with a roar. “He should’ve had a jury, but you know what? I’ll make a prediction. I think he’s gonna be just fine, OK?”

Trump then said he wouldn’t do it that evening because he didn’t want to cause “controversy.”

Aug. 14 was the first time Trump spoke publicly about the issue, saying during a Fox News interview that he was “seriously considering” a get-out-of-jail-card for the former sheriff.

Many conservative Republicans voiced their approval.

U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., called Arpaio’s prosecution partisan and welcomed the pardon, saying in a statement that it “reflects the very reason we voted President Trump into the Oval Office, to uphold the rule of law.”

Yes, the "rule of law".  That's sure what Trump is upholding there.... 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/08/25/president-trump-pardons-former-sheriff-joe-arpaio/604139001/

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

Obama granted clemency to an unrepentant terrorist. Pardoning a person with a long history of public service doesn't look troubling in comparison. Or do you support terrorism?

[GMDino]

(08-26-2017, 01:23 AM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Obama granted clemency to an unrepentant terrorist.  Pardoning a person with a long history of public service doesn't look troubling in comparison.  Or do you support terrorism?

I don't support terrorism.  That's a silly question that has no basis in fact.

Thanks for asking the question and offering no comment on the story.