Letter: Arpaio pardon challenges rule of law

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.”

This case is bigger than pardoning a good buddy. It’s a challenge to the rule of law. If our courts cannot make criminal convictions stick because of political considerations, we are in fascism territory. Pardons like this are what dictators do. So far, only the Arizona Republican Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake have called them out. I am waiting to hear from some other elected officials from their party about this. We are close to a constitutional crisis.

This story was originally published August 29, 2017 at 12:37 PM with the headline "Letter: Arpaio pardon challenges rule of law."