Uh, I think that here you do forget that Arizona voted the scumbag Arpaio out of office. It seems to me that people eventually did learn that they must stop supporting a yahoo’s stupid authoritarian and wasteful act.
They failed of course to understand that Trump was of the same mold and the state voted for Trump; but then again, people that did learn that Arpaio needed to go are more likely to learn that Trump also needs to go. And if the GOP will not bother, then to hell with them.
We must then throw all the rascals out in the next elections.
Using the pardon is an admission of guilt, but there is no separate confession required, and there is no means for a court to reject a pardon because it doesn’t believe that the pardoned person really truly believes in their heart that they are guilty.
“It is the general policy of the Department of Justice not to process applications for pardon of federal misdemeanor convictions, since most civil disabilities imposed as the result of a federal conviction are triggered by conviction for a felony offense rather than a misdemeanor crime.”
I could be wrong, and would welcome the correction, but I’ve heard this is the first presidential pardon of a misdemeanor. Throw that on top of the steaming pile of “Go ahead and ignore federal court decisions” that this implies, and you’ve got a gigantic, entirely self-inflicted mess. It takes a special kind of stupid to think this is a good idea, but again, it’s Trump.
A pardon was the right thing to do. The guy is 85 years old for God’s sake.Are his political opponents really eager to see him in prison, someone who served his country in the military, who has done nothing but try to keep the US border secure? The way some Democrats are baying for his blood one would think him a murderer at the very least. His offense was simply contempt of a politically-motivated court. Many on the left have praised such contempt to the skies when it is practised for their ideals. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Hopefully he will be subject to myriad civil suits til the end of his days, which hopefully will be soon. Disgusted beyond comprehension tonight. I wish I were dead rather than have to live in this country in 2017.
No, you certified idiot, as per his age he was bound to get probation. The point was still valid. No one should be above the law and his conviction was one of the big factors that made him lose his election.
It is only good for idiots that ignore what was going on under the mishandling of Joe Arpaio.
By the way, I do see also the same misogyny of Trump with what Arpaio was doing by ignoring what women that were raped were going trough when seeking justice under Arpaio.
I’d agree with this if the President had waited for sentence to be imposed and then, if that sentence included jail, commuted that sentence. This would had served the worthy goal you mention - not imprisoning an 85 year old. And it also would have recognized that the guy was found guilty because the facts supported that finding, and left his conviction undisturbed.
But this outcome, no. Sorry. I don’t share your reaction.
So let me see if I understand this: the POTUS just invoked the law to pardon a guy who was convicted of ignoring the law that said guy had sworn to uphold, in direct contravention to directives lawfully issued to him by another member of the law enforcement community. And I’m supposed to respect the POTUS’s invocation of the law to pardon the guy who was convicted of ignoring the law, because that guy did such a good job of upholding the law (which a court convicted him for not upholding).
This isn’t justice. And this won’t go unnoticed. In fact, it’s further evidence to the American populace that the justice system is rigged and illegitimate. I can’t wait to see how this affects future police-citizen interactions and attitudes!
This goes way beyond Arpaio. If the president feels that he can pardon anyone who defies a federal court order then we have a serious situation. I hope that the Republicans in Congress will see that and will look beyond their own reelection prospects.
I was actually quite flabbergasted that he pardoned him, as I was under the impression that one could not be pardoned for contempt of court by the president, since it is an offense against that specific court, and not an “offense against the United States,” which is what the POTUS has the power to pardon. Will anyone try to challenge this in court?
As one has to find the party that suffers in this case it could be the judges that had to go trough the Arpaio gauntlet, but AFAIK it is not likely to get challenged. In another item I don’t know if his pardon included his clear attempt at subverting justice when he self attempted to get a mistrial by investigating (or by claiming in the witness stage to investigate) the wife of the judge in his court case.