The ranking Judiciary Committee Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) ripped Trump for disregarding the law with the pardon of Joe Arpaio.
Feinstein tweeted:
Sheriff Arpaio should not have been pardoned. A pardon for his conduct demonstrates flagrant disregard for the rule of law in this country.
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) August 26, 2017
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For years Sheriff Arpaio systematically violated civil rights. President Trump indicates he approves of that behavior with this pardon.
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) August 26, 2017
Trump thought that he could use the storm to sneak the pardon past the country, but by announcing the pardon at a time when the nation’s attention is focused on the White House, Trump called more attention to an action that he was trying to keep secret.
Sen. Feinstein was correct. Trump doesn’t pay attention the laws or policy norms like a Justice Department review before presidential pardons are issued. It is deeply troubling that the President would test run his unilateral pardoning process on Arpaio. The lesson from the Arpaio pardon for Trump is that he could pardon himself, his friends, or his kids from Russia crimes and doesn’t need to follow the rules and norms of the pardoning process.
Trump managed to call national attention to his attitude of lawlessness because he tried to use a hurricane as political cover. The Arpaio pardon has gone wrong for Trump as a dirty deed that he was trying to hide has been exposed for the entire country to see.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association