Arpaio: ‘No idea’ if Trump will pardon me
Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he doesn’t know whether President Trump will pardon him.
“So what’s the scoop on me?” Arpaio asked on Monday night. “Will he pardon me?”
“Do you think he’ll do it tomorrow night? Who knows,” Arpaio said in a phone interview with NBC News. “I don’t know.”
His comments come ahead of a rally Trump is scheduled to hold Tuesday in Phoenix.
{mosads}Arpaio was found guilty of criminal contempt of court for not following an order to stop patrols targeting immigrants solely on the suspicion they were in the U.S. illegally. He could face up to six months in prison but won’t be sentenced until October.
Trump told Fox News earlier this month that he was “seriously considering” a pardon for Arpaio.
“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.
Arpaio said Trump’s comments were “out of the blue.”
“No idea,” he added.
Arpaio endorsed Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign and has been an outspoken opponent of illegal immigration.
Trump could announce a pardon of Arpaio during his Arizona rally Tuesday.
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