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Trump 'seriously considering' a pardon for ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio

President Trump may soon issue a pardon for Joe Arpaio, the colorful former Arizona sheriff who was found guilty two weeks ago of criminal contempt for defying a state judge’s order to stop traffic patrols targeting suspected undocumented immigrants. In his final years as Maricopa County sheriff, Arpaio had emerged as a leading opponent of illegal immigration.

“I am seriously considering a pardon for Sheriff Arpaio,” the president said Sunday, during a conversation with Fox News at his club in Bedminster, N.J. “He has done a lot in the fight against illegal immigration. He’s a great American patriot and I hate to see what has happened to him.”

Trump said the pardon could happen in the next few days, should he decide to do so.
Arpaio, 85, was convicted by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton of misdemeanor contempt of court for willfully disregarding an Arizona judge’s order in 2011 to stop the anti-immigrant traffic patrols. Arpaio had maintained the law enforcement patrols for 17 months thereafter.
The man who built a controversial national reputation as “America’s toughest sheriff” admitted he prolonged his patrols, but insisted he did not intend to break the law because one of his former attorneys did not explain to him the full measure of restrictions contained in the court order.
He is expected to be sentenced on Oct. 5 and could face up to six months in jail. However, since he is 85 years old and has no prior convictions, some attorneys doubt he will receive any jail time.

'Is there anyone in local law enforcement who has done more to crack down on illegal immigration than Sheriff Joe?'

Citing his long service as “an outstanding sheriff,” the president said Arpaio is admired by many Arizona citizens who respected his tough-on-crime approach.
Arpaio’s widely publicized tactics included forcing inmates to wear pink underwear and housing them in desert tent camps where temperatures often climbed well past 100 degrees Fahrenheit. He also controversially brought back chain gains, including a voluntary chain gang for women prisoners.
Civil liberties and prisoner advocates as well as supporters of immigrants’ rights have criticized Arpaio for years, culminating in his prosecution. He lost his bid for reelection last year.
“Is there anyone in local law enforcement who has done more to crack down on illegal immigration than Sheriff Joe?” asked Trump. “He has protected people from crimes and saved lives. He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way.”
Stopping the flow of undocumented immigrants across the southern U.S. border was a central theme of the president’s campaign. Arpaio endorsed Trump in January 2016.   
Trump indicated he may move quickly should he decide to issue a presidential pardon. “I might do it right away, maybe early this week. I am seriously thinking about it.”
Trump could decide to await the outcome of an appeal by Arpaio’s lawyers who contend their client’s case should have been decided by a jury, not a judge.
In a statement after the verdict, his attorneys stated, “The judge’s verdict is contrary to what every single witness testified in the case. Arpaio believes that a jury would have found in his favor, and that it will.”
Reached Monday for reaction to the possible pardon, Arpaio expressed surprise that Trump was aware of his legal predicament.
“I am happy he understands the case,” he told Fox News. “I would accept the pardon because I am 100 percent not guilty.”
The former sheriff said he will continue to be a strong supporter of the president regardless of whether he receives a pardon. But he also voiced concern that a pardon might cause problems for Trump, saying, “I would never ask him for a pardon, especially if it causes heat. I don’t want to do anything that would hurt the president.”
Trump has not granted any pardons so far in his presidency.

Scaramucci: If it were up to me, Bannon would be gone

Short-lived White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said Monday that if it were up to him, top adviser Steve Bannon would be gone from President Trump's administration.

But, he notes, "it's not up to me."

"The Mooch," a few weeks removed from his spectacular flameout following an expletive-laden conversation with a reporter, appeared Monday on CBS' "Late Show" with Stephen Colbert. Colbert has seen his ratings soar since Trump's inauguration with his relentless comedic attacks.
Scaramucci suggested in an earlier interview that Bannon is the source of at least some of the West Wing leaks and that his connection to Breitbart.com and its association with the far right is hurting the presidency.
Trump gave Scaramucci the White House job in late July, in part for how he deftly forced CNN to take down an incorrect online story connecting him to the Russia investigations.
However, he was fired 11 days later, after a profanity-laced phone call with The New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza and amid the arrival of retired Marine Gen. John Kelly as the new White House chief of staff.
“For the record, I thought that (call) was off the record,” Scaramucci, a former Wall Street financier and member of the Trump campaign’s finance committee, said Sunday. “That was a very deceitful thing that he did. … But we don't need to debate that anymore. That's past news. I made a mistake. I'm accountable for the mistake. I paid the consequences of that.”
Colbert showed a picture of Scaramucci and former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus glaring at each other. Scaramucci said there was "no love lost" between the two.
He said he and Priebus got along well when he was writing checks to the Republican National Committee, which Priebus once led.
Scaramucci said he knows Trump "as a compassionate person," while reiterating that he thought the president should have spoken more harshly than he did initially of the white supremacists involved in the violent protest in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Of Trump's frequent off-the-cuff remarks, Scaramucci said, "That's him wearing his heart on his sleeve."

Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg Hailed As ‘English Trump,’ Might Replace Theresa May

Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg (PA/Photo)

OAN Newsroom

A Conservative politician in Britain is reportedly discussing a bid to succeed Theresa May as prime minister.
Jacob Rees-Mogg is a popular personality on social media with over 40,000 Instagram followers, and 29,000 likes on Facebook.
He’s known as the English Donald Trump, and is the member of parliament for North East Somerset.
Recent polls suggest he is becoming more popular than Prime Minister May.
In his vision for the future of the post-Brexit Britain, Rees-Mogg aims to cut the income tax and stamp duty, and dismantle the monopolies in the domestic market.
Rees-Mogg is reportedly giving a “careful consideration” to his political ambitions.

Majority Whip Steve Scalise Set to Return to Congress After August Recess

OAN Newsroom

A Republican lawmaker says House Majority Whip Steve Scalise plans on returning to work after the August recess.
Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves says Scalise — who was seriously wounded in a shooting during a congressional baseball practice in June — is set to be back on Capitol Hill in September.
Scalise suffered damage to his abdomen, as well as his hip and leg that has required multiple surgeries
Graves added, the majority whip is working hard to keep that deadline and may be fighting off doctors at the hospital to come back.
Scalise is said to be in good spirits, and making progress in his recovery.