Arpaio says he’d accept a pardon from the president

Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he would welcome a presidential pardon for his criminal-contempt conviction, although he concedes he’s not aware of whether his political ally has been briefed on his legal woes.

“Whatever the president wants me to do, I would support him,” Arpaio told The Arizona Republic by phone Wednesday. “If he needs help with anything, of course I’m going to help him.”

But Arpaio said he wouldn’t be the one to make the call.

“I’m not going to ask him,” Arpaio said. “I think, I believe he may not even know about this, which will become a different story in a couple days, with a bigger, much bigger picture than just me.”

Arpaio was one of the earliest and most vocal champions of Trump during the presidential race, and he introduced Trump at Mesa and Fountain Hills rallies. Arpaio also stumped for his political ally across the country,

traveling to Cleveland last year to speak at the Republican National Convention and to Washington in January for his inauguration.

The two share hard-line stances on illegal immigration and seem to have a warm personal relationship, as well. In a December interview with The Republic, Arpaio fondly recounted how Trump personally called to check in when he heard Arpaio’s wife, Ava, had cancer.

A recent story on the conservative blog Infowars quotes Arpaio asking, “Where is President Trump in this case?” But in the interview with The Republic, Arpaio stressed that it was others, not him, who were asking this very question.

“The reason I think a lot of this is being talked about is that many, many people around the country are saying, ‘Trump should pardon,’ ” Arpaio said. “I have not called him on this issue. I’m sure I could. … I’m with him, pardon no pardon, and not asking him. Although, as I said, many other people are asking him.”

When asked whether the two had spoken since Trump’s inauguration, Arpaio demurred.

“I’m not going to answer that,” he said. “If I did, I’m very careful. I don’t go around bragging.”

Speculation of a presidential pardon has trailed Arpaio’s case since Trump’s surprise victory in November. To date, the White House has remained silent on the issue.

Still, the possibility is seen as a threat to civil-rights advocates like Lydia Guzman, who viewed Arpaio’s conviction as a long-overdue comeuppance.

“This isn’t just someone who is asking a random ask,” Guzman said. “Arpaio was there for Trump in his campaign. He rallied for him, so this is a very real (possibility) that a lot of folks, my colleagues and I, are concerned with.”

Guzman said she and other activists have been monitoring the matter closely.

“I hope that he doesn’t do this,” she said. “If he does, that would mean that he would have a total disregard for the judicial system.”

Individuals seeking a pardon are supposed to file a petition through the U.S. Department of Justice’s pardon attorneys, according to former U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton. It’s an instrument used by previous administrations to sift through “poorly founded” requests.

However, Charlton said, the formality isn’t required. He recalled the case of former Arizona Gov. Fife Symington, who was found guilty of bank fraud in 1997. His conviction was overturned on appeal, and prosecutors were deciding whether to retry his case when former President Bill Clinton stepped in with a pardon during his waning days in office.

“It’s the better practice that these requests go through DOJ pardon attorneys,” Charlton said. “But as we’ve seen in the past, that’s something that’s often honored in the breach rather than in practice.”

Last week, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton issued a ruling that found Arpaio had disregarded another federal judge’s order intended to stamp out Arpaio’s signature immigration patrols.

Arpaio, 85, could face up to six months in jail for the criminal conviction.