This story will break along party lines for sure.
Trump’s a hero, or he’s outrageous.
The much-anticipated pardon has come.
Sheriff Arpaio is free and clear.
“Arpaio’s life and career, which began at the age of 18 when he enlisted in the military after the outbreak of the Korean War, exemplifies selfless public service,” read a statement from the White House.
The Arizona sheriff, now 85-years-old, is considered a hero among supporters of immigration enforcement. Arpaio served in the Army before becoming a police officer in Washington DC and Las Vegas and a special agent in the DEA. He became the Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona in 1992.
“After more than fifty years of admirable service to our Nation, he is worthy candidate for a Presidential pardon,” the statement concluded. –Breitbart
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
And guess who is upset about it?
Well, lots of people, but former (allegedly GOP) Presidential candidate John McCain had some words.
Critics from the President’s own party also joined in to voice their displeasure, with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) accusing the president of undermining the rule of law.
‘@POTUS’s pardon of Joe Arpaio, who illegally profiled Latinos, undermines his claim for the respect of rule of law,’ McCain posted to Twitter.
Apaio earlier Friday thanked the President for the pardon, claiming in a tweet that the conviction was the result of an Obama era ‘witch hunt.’
Source: Daily Mail
How this guy won the nomination I will never understand.
The Left also have their knives out over it, predictably.
His pardon of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., is unpardonable. In many ways, it’s worse than it looks.
On its merits, the pardon rebukes equal justice and the rule of law. —NY Daily News
‘Rebukes the rule of law?’ That’s a strange reaction to ‘enforcement of immigratino law’ when the previous President himself refused to the same. But were we really expecting ‘objectivity’?
He added, ‘This undermines years of procedures followed by presidents of both parties. And it opens the way to wide abuse of the pardon power.’
The wide abuse of pardon power? Interesting choice of words.
Did he offer comparable denunciation of Clinton’s pardon of Mark Rich?
Marc Rich, a fugitive who had fled the U.S. during his prosecution, was residing in Switzerland. Rich owed $48 million in taxes and was charged with 51 counts of tax fraud, was pardoned of tax evasion. He was required to pay a $1 million fine and waive any use of the pardon as a defense against any future civil charges that were filed against him in the same case. Critics complained that Denise Eisenberg Rich, his former wife, had made substantial donations to both the Clinton library and to Mrs. Clinton’s senate campaign. According to Paul Volcker’s independent investigation of Iraqi Oil-for-Food kickback schemes, Marc Rich was a middleman for several suspect Iraqi oil deals involving over 4 million barrels (640,000 m3) of oil. Longtime Clinton supporters and Democratic leaders such as former President Jimmy Carter, James Carville and Terry McAuliffe, were all critical of the Clinton pardon. Carter said the pardons were “disgraceful.” —Wiki
What about Obama and the Treason charges against Bradley/Chelsea Manning?
The soldier was sentenced to 35 years in military prison for passing secrets to the website WikiLeaks about US operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Manning had served seven years when president Barack Obama commuted the sentence just three days before he left the White House. Charlie Spiering of Breitbart News tweeted on Friday: “Obama commuted Private Manning’s 35-year sentence — Sheriff Joe Arpaio was facing maximum 6 months in prison.” —Guardian
A young Private who knowingly committed treason… was let go with years and years left to live.
But what about an 85-year-old man who served honorably through a lifetime of years? One who upheld the rule of law, even when government officials dodged that responsibility?
Obama cleared drug dealers, embezzlers, and Fraudsters.
Trump released a Sheriff.
Thank you @realdonaldtrump for seeing my conviction for what it is: a political witch hunt by holdovers in the Obama justice department!
— Sheriff Joe Arpaio (@RealSheriffJoe) August 26, 2017
