The Arpaio Pardon

Donald pardoned former Maricopa (AZ) Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- a racist, a member of a group of anti-government sheriffs, and generally terrible at his job -- on Friday. On July 31, Arpaio had been found guilty of criminal contempt but hadn't yet been sentenced. His actions are odious, but exactly how are they odious and why does it matter? Apologies for the length of this.

A Violation of Norms

By pardoning Arpaio, Donald violated (yet) another norm -- bypassing the DoJ's Office of the Pardon Attorney and the standard process for pardoning. Like so many norms, it is not unconstitutional. Nothing can be done about it, either. The only restriction on pardons is against impeachments. 

US Constitution, Article II, Section 2: "...he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment."

Nonetheless, it stinks. A violation of norms implies that following the norms would not have resulted in the desired outcome. Secondly, it follows a pattern of corruption from cronyism to nepotism to judicial interference.

An Intention to Obstruct Justice

Given Donald's actions in attempting to block the investigation of Mike Flynn, the firing James Comey, and then inquiring about his options to fire Robert Mueller, the pardoning of Arpaio reeks of obstruction of justice. It turns out, Donald did. The Washington Post reported that Donald sought to shut down the federal prosecution of Arpaio.

The president asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions whether it would be possible for the government to drop the criminal case against Arpaio, but was advised that would be inappropriate, according to three people with knowledge of the conversation.

Just as foul as obstruction, however, is the complicity of the Attorney General of the US, Jeff Sessions. Not only did he willfully disregard this criminal attempt at obstruction, but he apparently advised Donald on how to work around it.

A FULL AND UNCONDITIONAL PARDON 

FOR HIS CONVICTION of Section 401(3), Title 18, United States Code (Docket No. 2:16-CR-01012-SRB) in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, of which he was convicted on July 31 , 2017, and for which sentencing is currently set for October 5, 2017; and 

FOR ANY OTHER OFFENSES under Chapter 21 of Title 18, United States Code that might arise, or be charged, in connection with Melendres v. Arpaio (Docket No. 2:07 -CV -02513-GMS) in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.

That second portion of the pardon blocks all attempts to seek criminal justice in Melendres v. Arpaio. Stamped with the DoJ seal, the implication is that Sessions provided Donald with the means to fulfill his desire to stop the prosecution of Arpaio. If the pardoning of Arpaio is sickening, then Jeff Sessions should also feel the heat for this pardon. Arpaio deliberately violated a court's order, and the result of it was the illegal detention of Ortega Melendres, a Mexican national with a tourist visa.

Racism at All Levels

There is no question that Arpaio is racist, but his racism hurts everyone when he puts his racism ahead of doing his job.

Arpaio was stung by a report that showed his office had failed to adequately investigate more than 400 sex crimes in Maricopa County from 2005 to 2007. The slipshod investigations came to light only when the Phoenix suburb of El Mirage dropped a law-enforcement contract it had with the sheriff's office – and discovered that Arpaio's men had left behind piles of unfinished cases, many of them involving children and illegal immigrants.

Accountability is why you need a Department of Justice that isn't itself racist. Unfortunately, we have Jeff Sessions. As far back as 2009, his racist heart was well-known.

‘I was regularly called 'boy,’” Figures said. When asked by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., who called him “boy,” Figures said, ''Mr. Sessions did, one or two of the other assistants.'' 

Arpaio had intended to call Sessions to the stand during his trial to highlight that Arpaio's actions would have complied with Sessions' new policies against sanctuary cities. Cute, no? Arpaio wanted Sessions to confirm that Sessions' new rules made his racist actions legal.

Sessions' sanctuary city policies, however, were implementations of Donald's EO, and Donald has his own, long history of racism, too. We tolerate Neo-Nazis and White Supremacist communities, but sanctuary cities are a no-no?

Bystander: "Officer, there's a Neo Nazi firing a gun at people!"

Police Officer: "But, that man is white."

If Donald's response to Charlottesville was a dog whistle call to White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis, then his blanket pardon of Arpaio in a case that dealt with racial profiling is his direct stamp of racism onto the American culture.

Please Standby For This Announcement

Paul Ryan's got a public statement on the matter, issued by his spokesperson: "The Speaker does not agree with this decision."

In other words, please standby as Racism and Criminals take over this country.

Legislatively, Ryan pushed through a deeply unpopular and severely flawed Repeal and Replace bill, yet when it came to a censure of Donald over Charlottesville, Ryan refused.

He's not the first Republican to speak out with vague criticism followed by zero action, either. McConnell may leak to the press that he was "horrified" by Donald's response, but his inaction leaves Donald to continue to horrify everyone. What good does it do to standby in horror?

"What those Nazis are doing is such a terrible thing, I do declare. Cup of tea and some scones?"