President Trump pardons controversial former sheriff Joe Arpaio
In Phoenix Tuesday, President Trump all but promised clemency to Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff who was convicted in July of criminal contempt for defying an order to stop imprisoning suspected illegal immigrants. "I'll make a prediction," Trump said during his rally. "I think [Arpaio]'s going to be just fine, okay?"
On Friday night, the president followed through on that promise with an official pardon. "After more than 50 years of admirable service to our nation," the White House said in a statement Friday, "he is [a] worthy candidate for a presidential pardon." The 85-year-old former sheriff has long been an outspoken critic of undocumented immigrants and appeared with Trump on the campaign trail in 2016.
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