XPost: alt.law-enforcement, alt.politics.republicans, sac.politics
XPost: talk.politics.guns

President Trump issued a full pardon Monday to a former Virginia sheriff
who had been convicted of bribery, alleging that he was a victim of a “weaponized” Justice Department under the Biden administration.

Trump announced his pardon of Scott Jenkins, who was convicted in December
of accepting more than $70,000 in bribes in exchange for appointing local businessmen as auxiliary deputy sheriffs in the office.

“Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been
dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ,” Trump said in
a Monday post on Truth Social announcing the pardon.

Jenkins, who served as the sheriff of Culpeper County in Northern Virginia
for more than a decade until he lost his reelection bid in 2023, was
convicted on one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services mail
and wire fraud, and seven counts of bribery concerning programs receiving public funds.

Prosecutors alleged that Jenkins accepted cash bribes and bribes in the
form of campaign contributions from various individuals, including two who
were undercover FBI agents. He offered them badges and credentials despite
not being trained or vetted and not offering any services to the sheriff’s office, they argued.

Jenkins was also accused of pressuring local officials to restore one of
the individuals’ right to own a firearm despite their status as a
convicted felon.

Three of the men, including the previously convicted felon, already
pleaded guilty for their roles in the bribery scheme before Jenkins was
found guilty.

Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison in March.

“Scott Jenkins violated his oath of office and the faith the citizens of Culpeper County placed in him when he engaged in a cash-for-badges
scheme,” acting United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee said in a release
after the sentencing. “We hold our elected law enforcement officials to a higher standard of conduct and this case proves that when those officials
use their authority for unjust personal enrichment, the Department of
Justice will hold them accountable.”

But Trump argued that Jenkins was treated unfairly, alleging that the
judge in the case, whom former President Biden appointed, refused to
accept evidence that Jenkins offered to exonerate himself.

“This Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice,
and doesn’t deserve to spend a single day in jail,” he said. “He is a
wonderful person, who was persecuted by the Radical Left ‘monsters,’ and
‘left for dead.’”

Trump’s pardon also came after a personal plea for clemency from Jenkins,
who reportedly said last month during a webinar that he didn’t have the
money to appeal the verdict and believed Trump would help if he knew the
facts of the case and his side that he wasn’t able to share in front of
the jury.

Trump has regularly argued without evidence that he and other
conservatives have been the target of a politicized Justice Department
during the Biden administration.

He has issued a wide range of pardons for controversial figures since
returning to office, including most of those convicted of crimes related
to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and Michele Fiore, a conservative
commentator and former Las Vegas City Council member who was convicted on
wire fraud.

The Justice Department under Trump has also launched investigations into several public officials, leading to accusations from Democrats that the president is targeting political opponents.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5318954-trump-announces-full- pardon-for-virginia-sheriff-convicted-of-bribery/

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)