Trump is 'seriously considering' a pardon for Sheriff Joe Arpaio


President Trump told Fox News that he is "seriously considering a pardon" for former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was found guilty of criminal contempt in July after violating a 2011 federal order that demanded the Maricopa County, Arizona, lawman stop racially profiling Latinos in immigration "roundups."
"[Arpaio] has done a lot in the fight against illegal immigration," Trump told Fox News from where he is vacationing in Bedminster, New Jersey. "He's a great American patriot and I hate to see what has happened to him."
Arpaio, 85, is expected to be sentenced in October, and while he could theoretically face up to six months in jail, "some attorneys doubt he will receive any jail time," Fox News reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Arpaio argued to the court that his violation of the federal order was unintentional even as U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton claimed "the evidence at trial proves beyond a reasonable doubt … that [the] defendant knew of the order; and that defendant willfully violated the order by failing to do anything to ensure his subordinates' compliance and by directing them to continue to detain persons for whom no criminal charges could be filed."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
5 hilariously heavenly editorial cartoons about the newly elected pope
Cartoons Artists take on the angel and the devil, music choices at the Vatican, and more
-
Celebrating 60 years of the Pennine Way
The Week Recommends This beautiful long-distance path immerses walkers in the beautiful British countryside
-
To ban or not to ban AfD? German democracy at a crossroads
Talking Point Germany's domestic intelligence agency has officially designated the country's main opposition party a right-wing extremist group
-
Supreme Court weighs court limits amid birthright ban
speed read President Trump's bid to abolish birthright citizenship has sparked questions among federal judges about blocking administration policies
-
Gabbard fires intelligence chiefs after Venezuela report
speed read Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired the top two officials leading the National Intelligence Council
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeover
speed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin