Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton says the presidential pardon of the metro area’s former sheriff “is a slap in the face to the people of Maricopa County.”.
The Latest on President Donald Trump pardoning former Phoenix metro sheriff Joe Arpaio (all times local) :
6: 35 p.m.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton says the presidential pardon of the metro area’s former sheriff “is a slap in the face to the people of Maricopa County.”
He says it’s especially a slap in the face of the Latino community and those ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio “victimized as he systematically and illegally violated their civil rights.”
In a statement, Stanton says Arpaio received “a fair trial and a justifiable conviction” and there’s nothing President Donald Trump can do “to change that awful legacy and the stain he has left on our community.”
Stanton says it’s not a proud day for Phoenix and “the city is moving on and moving forward from the divisiveness that defined the Arpaio era.”
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6: 20 p.m.
The chair of the Democratic National Committee says President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a “free pass.”
DNC Chair Tom Perez says in a statement that “prejudice doesn’t deserve a pardon” and that Trump “just gave a free pass to his buddy Joe Arpaio, the nation’s most notorious agent of racism and bigotry.”
He said Friday that Trump’s decision to issue the pardon just as a dangerous hurricane is bearing down on Texas is “not presidential, that’s a coward.”
Perez was assistant U. S. attorney general for civil rights when he handled the Justice Department’s 2012 lawsuit against Arpaio for racially profiling Latino residents in the Phoenix area.
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6: 25 p.m.
Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio tells The Associated Press that he appreciates Donald Trump pardoning him after his recent federal conviction and says he’ll always stand by the president.
Arpaio talked to the AP by phone while he was eating dinner at an Italian restaurant on Friday. He says he is thankful for the work his legal team did in securing the pardon. He plans to discuss his case more next week.
He said he learned of the pardon after the papers absolving the conviction were mailed to one of his lawyers.
He also said he’s not ruling out a return to the political arena. Arpaio says he’s going to be “very active.”
Arpaio was convicted of a misdemeanor contempt-of-court charge for defying a judge’s orders that he stop conducting immigration patrols. He was facing the prospect of jail time at his sentencing in October.
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5 p.m.
President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned former sheriff Joe Arpaio, the retired Arizona lawman who was convicted for intentionally disobeying a judge’s order in an immigration case.
The White House said the 85-year-old ex-sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County was a “worthy candidate” for a presidential pardon.
The action came several days after Trump, at a rally in downtown Phoenix, strongly hinted that he intended to issue a pardon.
Arpaio became linked to Trump during the campaign for their hardline immigration views.
He was convicted of a misdemeanor for intentionally defying a judge’s order to stop his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.
Both politicians questioned the authenticity of then-President Barack Obama’s birth certificate and have a similar history in sparring with judges.
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