President Trump Under Fire for Arpaio Pardon
U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Az) released the following statement on President Trump’s pardon of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio:
“No one is above the law and the individuals entrusted with the privilege of being sworn law officers should always seek to be beyond reproach in their commitment to fairly enforcing the laws they swore to uphold. Mr. Arpaio was found guilty of criminal contempt for continuing to illegally profile Latinos living in Arizona based on their perceived immigration status in violation of a judge’s orders. The President has the authority to make this pardon, but doing so at this time undermines his claim for the respect of rule of law as Mr. Arpaio has shown no remorse for his actions.”
Other prominent Republicans, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Arizona GOP Senator Jeff Flake, and Ohio Governor John Kasich also have criticized the Arpaio pardon.
Former Vice President Joe Biden made insights in The Atlantic that rang true with me. He equated the President’s comments in Charlottesville and the pardon of Arpaio and connecting the two as founded in racism:
“[President Trump’s] contempt for the U.S. Constitution and willingness to divide this nation knows no bounds. Now he’s pardoned a law-enforcement official who terrorized the Latino community, violated its constitutional rights, defied a federal court order to stop, and ran a prison system so rife with torture and abuse he himself called it a `concentration camp.'”
KJ