Democratic and Republican Senators condemn Donald Trump over his pardon of racist criminal Joe Arpaio
Donald Trump not only pardoned his racist criminal pal Joe Arpaio without valid cause, he tried to slip it in without anyone noticing on a Friday night in the middle of a major hurricane landfall. But the move went far from unnoticed. Multiple Senators from both parties were quick to publicly condemn Trump for the move – including both GOP Senators from Arpaio’s own home state.
It wasn’t surprising to see Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tear into Trump at length over the pardon. He tweeted “As millions of people in TX and LA are prepping for the hurricane, the President is using the cover of the storm to pardon a man who violated a court’s order to stop discriminating against Latinos and ban courageous transgender men and women from serving our nation’s Armed Forces. Then he ran to Camp David. The only reason to do these right now is to use the cover of Hurricane Harvey to avoid scrutiny. So sad, so weak.” (link). But then the Republicans chimed in.
Republican Senator Jeff Flake, from Arpaio’s state of Arizona, was fairly polite about it: “Regarding the Arpaio pardon, I would have preferred that the President honor the judicial process and let it take its course.” (link). But Arizona’s other Senator, John McCain, was far harsher in a lengthy statement.
McCain posted this on his official Senate website: “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.” (link). No wonder Trump tried to sneak it in during a hurricane.
