The president spared Arpaio, a loyal supporter and immigration hardliner, possible jail time for wilfully defying a court order to stop racially profiling Latino people in Arizona. Bob Bauer, former White House counsel to president Barack Obama, wrote on the Lawfare blog: “Trump went ahead with the pardon, and reasons having nothing to do with injustice, or the public welfare, can explain it. He asked the crowd if they liked Arpaio – who styled himself as “America’s toughest sheriff” – and there was a roar of approval. It certainly wasn’t appropriate.”Painter added: “I don’t think the pardon will be challenged but we have potentially serious constitutional issues with President Trump. Unlike that case, or Bill Clinton’s infamous pardon of the commodities trader Marc Rich in 2001, Arpaio was found guilty of violating constitutional rights.

Source: The Guardian August 26, 2017 21:33 UTC