Note to wife:
So now it ends. We endured 24 years of the media circus that was Joe Arpaio’s fiefdom at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. In November he finally failed, big time, to get re-elected. Then he was convicted of criminal contempt for thumbing his nose at a federal judge’s order to stop harassing innocent Latinos. He faced up to six months in jail (what irony!) but now will not be penalized – thanks to being an early supporter and anti-immigration ally of Donald Trump.
The president went out of his way to circumvent the usual process – heck, Arpaio hadn’t even been sentenced yet. Pardons are usually considered acts of presidential compassion, but coming from Trump under these circumstances it’s also an endorsement of the ex-sheriff’s thuggish behavior. And Joe chooses to believe this means he was right all along.
We can only wish that Arpaio will now settle quietly into a long overdue retirement. But don’t count on it.