Trump pardons former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio

AP: “President Donald Trump spared former Sheriff Joe Arpaio a possible jail sentence … by pardoning the recent federal conviction stemming from his immigration patrols.” On August 25, President Donald Trump issued a pardon for former Sheriff Joe Arpaio who was convicted of criminal contempt of court for prolonging immigration patrols 17 months after he was ordered to stop doing so. From an August 25 article by The Associated Press:

President Donald Trump spared former Sheriff Joe Arpaio a possible jail sentence on Friday by pardoning the recent federal conviction stemming from his immigration patrols, reversing what critics saw as a long-awaited comeuppance for a lawman who escaped accountability for headline-grabbing tactics during his tenure as metropolitan Phoenix's top law enforcer.

The White House said the 85-year-old ex-sheriff was a “worthy candidate” for a presidential pardon. It was Trump's first pardon as president.

[...]

The pardon drew a swift and harsh denunciation from Latinos and political leaders in Arizona and beyond. They said the action amounted to an endorsement of racism by wiping away the conviction of a man who has been found by the courts to have racially profiled Latinos in his immigration patrols. [The Associated Press, 8/25/17]

Fox News responds with defensiveness and obfuscation: “Haters are going to hate”

Contributor Michelle Malkin: “This was an overzealous, open borders persecution and prosecution.”

MICHELLE MALKIN: This was an overzealous, open borders persecution and prosecution. I think people need to remember the context here, because you had Obama administration officials who have open borders as their motto, as their agenda, as their end goal. You had people like John Morton at [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and Thomas Perez, the open borders Maryland activist who did everything from advocate for driver's licenses for illegal aliens, to providing guides for evading our immigration enforcement officers and border patrol agents to illegal aliens through a nonprofit that was funded by the government, Casa de Maryland. These were the ideologues that were populating the Department of Homeland Security. Of course they went after Joe Arpaio, because he was doing the job the Obama administration officials in the federal government refused to do. [Fox News, Hannity, 8/25/17]

Host Sean Hannity to Arpaio: “I’m very relieved” for you.

SEAN HANNITY (HOST): President Trump has in fact pardoned former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Remember, he was convicted last month of only criminal contempt.

[...]

Joining us, I believe his first interview, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. First of all, sheriff, I’m very relieved for you. You’re 85 years old. You have dedicated your entire life to public service. You came under fire for obeying what are the laws of the land. I applaud the president for what he did tonight; it was the right thing to do. [Fox News, Hannity, 8/25/17]

Co-host Jesse Watters: President Obama commuted sentences for “Bradley Manning” and "a lot of crack dealers,” so is pardoning Arpaio that “big of a deal?”

JESSE WATTERS (CO-HOST): So you've had Bill Clinton, who famously pardoned Marc Rich, the biggest tax cheat in U.S. history. You have President Obama who commuted the sentence of Bradley Manning (sic), huge traitor. And commuted sentences of a lot of crack dealers at the end of his administration --

[...]

So now you have Arpaio who is 85 years old. He's a very loyal friend to the president. It was a misdemeanor charge. Everyone's pulling their hair out in Washington about Sheriff Joe being pardoned. Big picture this for us. Is this big of a deal? [Fox News, The Five, 8/25/17]

Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk: Arpaio was found to be in contempt of court through an “unfair trial with a political process that Eric Holder and Barack Obama put upon him.”

CHARLIE KIRK: First and foremost, Sheriff Joe Arpaio bravely served his country, enlisting when he was age 18 in the Korean War --

MICHAEL STARR HOPKINS: That does not make him -- that has nothing to do about whether he’s racist.

KIRK: Let me finish. It actually really does. So, Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s a hero, he’s a veteran, he served his country wonderfully, and what he did in Maricopa County is he enforced the immigration laws despite federal government overreach. And look, the 9th Circuit Court, which we all know is wildly liberal, way to the left, they wanted to make a political example out of him, and they did. Now, did Sheriff Joe do everything perfect? No. But President Trump, and actually, with the will of the people, he ran on enforcing immigration laws. And -- are you going to really subjugate an 85 year-old veteran that bravely served this country through an unfair trial with a political process that Eric Holder and Barack Obama put upon him? I don’t think so. Now I’m not a huge fan of presidential pardons -- I will agree with that. But here, I don’t see anything wrong with this one in the slightest. [Fox News, Justice with Judge Jeanine, 8/26/17]

Contributor Byron York: President Obama “pardoned Chelsea Manning, and I don’t believe President Obama was endorsing espionage” (he actually commuted her sentence).

BYRON YORK: Everybody who is pardoned has broken the law. That's part of pardons, and pardons are not usually seen as an endorsement of the behavior of the person. President Obama pardoned Oscar López Rivera, an FALN terrorist who was linked to bombings that killed Americans. President Obama was not endorsing --

ERIC SHAWN (HOST): And Chelsea Manning, who some consider a traitor --

YORK: He pardoned Chelsea Manning, and I don't believe President Obama was endorsing espionage in that case. And I don't think this has anything to do with the Russia investigation. Although, I will say on the issue of president being above the law -- you hear this a lot, but if having unreviewable power to pardon anybody for any reason is not being above the law, I don't know what is. And that's just an aspect of the presidency that all presidents have actually used. [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 8/28/17]

Anchor Maria Bartiromo: “Republicans are not backing the president” on his pardon of Arpaio.

JASON CHAFFETZ: I wish the president had waited till he was actually sentenced but nevertheless, the president has the right to do it, and Joe Arpaio is a patriot in many people's books, including mine. He served his community for decades, he was widely popular, elected multiple times. And certainly in contrast to Barack Obama -- the President Obama commuted more than 1,700 people, so everything from drug dealers and counterfeiters, people who were engaged in forgery, and certainly Chelsea Manning, there's hardly a comparison to what Donald Trump is doing.

MARIA BARTIROMO (HOST): So, what do you think is going on then, Jason? Like one of the first things that we hear from Congressman Paul Ryan [(R-WI)], the speaker of the House, is that he doesn't agree with President Trump. Once again, you're seeing this indication that so many people in the party do not care if he succeeds or not, are not necessarily on his team. You've got critical economic plans in place right now, people are wondering if you’re going to get tax reform -- if the Congress is going to get tax reform done -- and yet, continuations of divisions. Yesterday, Paul Ryan says, “I don't agree with the president.”

CHAFFETZ: Well, the speaker gets his opinion, but again, let's focus on the Democrats here. I know the speaker has been concerned that the president was picking on members of Congress, but under the Constitution, the president has the unilateral right to commute whatever sentence he wants, and for him to do one for somebody that he believes in and supports, it should hardly, A. be a surprise -- nobody should be surprised by that -- but I don't think it does anything productive.

BARTIROMO: Which is why the question come up about his own party not backing him, because you’re right, it’s the Democrats who have been obstructionists and they don't want his agenda to get by, so they’re doing everything that they can to get in front of it. Now they’re screaming outrage over the Confederate statues, obviously, and yet the Republicans are not backing the president. That's really what I'm getting at. [Fox News, Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, 8/27/17]

Host Leland Vittert: “At some level, haters are going to hate, or disagree, as it were in Washington. But the Constitution is pretty clear on this.”

LELAND VITTERT (HOST): At some level, haters are going to hate, or disagree, as it were in Washington. But the Constitution is pretty clear on this, that the president’s pardon powers are absolute. [Fox News, America’s News Headquarters, 8/27/17]

The Hill’s Joe Concha: “If you’re upset about Joe Arpaio getting pardoned during a heavy news cycle, then you better be upset about Oscar López, who was a terrorist.”

JOE CONCHA: January 17th, President Obama commuted the sentences of 1,700 prisoners. One of those people was a guy named Oscar López, all right? This is a guy that Politico calls a terrorist. Politico, not exactly a bastion of conservative thought, all right? This guy, by all means, should not have been let go.

So, if you’re upset about Joe Arpaio getting pardoned during a heavy news cycle, then you better be upset about Oscar López, who was a terrorist.

[...]

If you’re mad about Arpaio, then show me the tweets on January 17th, when President Obama had commuted the sentence of Oscar López. If not, then that is the definition of selective outrage, and that’s why people don’t trust the media so much, because it’s phony, it reeks, and it sticks to your boots. [Fox News, Justice with Judge Jeanine, 8/26/17]