Latest news with #CulpeperCounty
Washington Post
3 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
‘No MAGA left behind': The trouble with Trump's pardons
A jury convicted Scott Jenkins, the disgraced ex-sheriff of Culpeper County in Virginia, of taking more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for deputizing rich businessmen so they could get out of speeding tickets and carry guns without permits. Two undercover FBI agents who gave him envelopes of cash after he gave them badges testified at his trial. Luckily for Jenkins, he has long been an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump. On Monday, the day before he was due to report for his 10-year prison sentence, Trump pardoned him.
CBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CBC
'No MAGA left behind': Trump turning pardons into partisan exercise, critics say
As U.S. President Donald Trump makes a dizzying series of tariff proclamations, puts Ivy League schools in his sights over their policies, and tries to broker ceasefire agreements in global conflicts, his administration is periodically issuing pardons and commutations that attract less media attention. These recent decisions — which included a pardon Tuesday for a reality-show couple convicting of defrauding banks out of more than $30 million US — haven't led the widespread condemnation that met Trump's sweeping pardon of some 1,500 people, many convicted of violent assault, in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Based on the evidence so far, many of the subsequent pardons seem to be less about the legal nuances of specific cases than affiliation and partisanship. Trump on Monday said he would pardon Scott Jenkins, alleging in a social media post that the Virginia sheriff was the victim of an "overzealous" Justice Department in president Joe Biden's term and by a judge appointed by Biden. In fact, the Culpeper County sheriff was seen on video during his 2024 trial accepting cash, part of what prosecutors said was a pattern of taking money in exchange for auxiliary sheriff badges, as well as for personal gain. Jenkins, who's run as both a Republican and an independent, said last month he had hoped to plead for clemency directly with the Trump administration. Democrat Abigail Spanberger, running for governor in Virginia, panned the pardon in a social media post that pointed out that a jury of U.S. citizens, not a politicized individual or body, voted to convict Jenkins on 12 separate counts. Spanberger said the pardon was an "affront" to many officials, including "the law enforcement officers who investigated this case and hold themselves to the highest ethical standard every day." Former Ronald Reagan administration official and longtime conservative commentator William Kristol excoriated the pardon of Jenkins, arguing it sends a signal to Trump-supporting sheriffs "that they can act with immunity." "MAGA vigilantism over the next four years will be supercharged," Kristol wrote for the Bulwark. MAGA loyalists, Biden antagonists Nevada politician Michele Fiore, a staunch MAGA loyalist for a decade, was pardoned in April. Fiore was convicted after raising more than $70,000 for a statue for a slain Las Vegas police officer but instead spent some of the donations on cosmetic surgery, rent and her daughter's wedding. Brian Kalt, a Michigan State University constitutional law expert who's written about presidential pardons, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal after the Fiore pardon that "the main criterion seems to be someone is a supporter and if [Trump] can sort of identify with them as the victim of a politically motivated prosecution." In the case of Nikola electric vehicle founder Trevor Milton's pardon, issued in March, Trump said, "They say the thing that he did wrong was he was one of the first people that supported a gentleman named Donald Trump for president." In response to the president's comments, the nonprofit watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Inc. (CREW) posted: "Well, one thing's for sure: Trevor Milton and his wife donated more than $1.8 million to the Trump 47 Committee in the weeks before the election." It also didn't escape notice from Democrats that Milton, convicted of wire and securities fraud, was represented during his legal travails by lawyers including Brad Bondi — brother of current Republican attorney general Pam Bondi — and Marc Mukasey, who has represented the Trump Organization. There have also been pardons and sentence commutations for individuals who have, coincidentally or not, painted Biden's children in an unfavourable light. Jason Galanis and Devon Archer, who gave critical testimony about one-time business associate Hunter Biden, the president's son, on Capitol Hill, had their sentences for defrauding an Indigenous tribe in a separate transaction commuted by Trump. Paul Walczak, the son of a major Trump donor who was convicted of income tax fraud and ordered to pay over $4 million in restitution, received another pardon slammed by CREW and Democrats. In describing the presidential action, the New York Times headline read: Trump Pardons Executive Whose Family Sought to Publicize Ashley Biden's Diary. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy on the Walczak pardon: Trump's Justice Department weaponized: legal analyst Presidents have broad power to pardon federal crimes or commute sentences, as an act of mercy or justice, and Democratic presidents have faced criticism in certain cases: Jimmy Carter for executive actions involving folk singer Peter Yarrow and kidnapped heiress Patricia Hearst, and Bill Clinton for pardoning Marc Rich, an international fugitive whose former spouse was a Democratic donor. But according to Liz Oyer, the cost of these 2025 pardons is significant. Oyer, the former chief pardon attorney who is suing the government after being fired in March, has argued in a series of TikTok videos that it's not just the optics that are suboptimal. It costs taxpayers, Oyer says, as those pardoned no longer are mandated by the courts to pay back ill-gotten proceeds. She estimates that the total of debts wiped off the books is over $1.2 billion so far. Biden was only the second president in over a century whose pardons overall did not number in the hundreds or even the thousands, according to Pew Research. But among the 80 he granted, he received considerable criticism for pre-emptive pardons for figures who are hated by many of Trump's MAGA supporters, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and military leader Gen. Mark Milley. Legal analyst Dan Abrams, founder of Mediaite and host of a Sirius radio program, was in that camp, but said last week he'd changed his mind. "President Biden was right to preemptively pardon these folks even though it sets a terrible precedent; what we have seen [so far] is much worse," he said. Abrams said he changed his mind because "it is clear now that this administration is going to use the [Department of Justice] as a weapon," pointing to a series of threats from the White House and its cabinet members to investigate former or current Trump critics, from former FBI director James Comey for a seashell display on the beach, to former Trump administration cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs. In addition, Democratic Congress member LaMonica McIver has been charged over a fracas at an immigrant detention centre. Can Trump really revoke Biden's pardons? | About That 2 months ago Duration 11:10 'We can't leave those guys behind' Trump, indicted in four separate criminal matters until three of those cases fell away in the wake of his November election win, spent considerable time railing on the campaign trail about a justice system he said was weaponized against Republicans. Democrats have pointed out that despite those claims, mimicked by some Republican Congress members, the Justice Department in Biden's term appeared to pursue cases without favour. Prosecutions were pursued against Hunter Biden, Democratic legislators Bob Menendez and Henry Cuellar, and Democratic Mayor Eric Adams in New York City. It's not clear if federal prosecutors in this administration will aggressively probe suspected criminal activity by Republicans. But in Trump's first term, Justice Department officials under the auspices of then-attorney general William Barr sought to intervene in sentencing on behalf of Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, Trump loyalists charged with federal crimes. Both Stone and Flynn were subsequently pardoned. Trump has tapped loyalist Ed Martin to replace Oyer as chief pardon attorney. Martin was originally chosen to be lead attorney in D.C., but the required Senate confirmation appeared doomed given his staunch support of 2021 Capitol rioters, including of an avowed white supremacist Martin referred to as a friend. Martin, not needing Senate confirmation in his new role, recently told a radio host he's taking a "hard look" at the convictions of two men convicted in federal court over a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, adding, "We can't leave those guys behind."
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Yahoo
Injuries reported after car crashes into Loudoun County home
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. () — Deputies said a car crashed into a home in Loudoun County on Monday night. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said on May 26, deputies responded to a home in the 100 block of Baylor Drive. Trump pardons former Culpeper County sheriff convicted on multiple bribery charges Minor injuries were reported in the crash. People are asked to avoid the area. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump announces full pardon for Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNN
26-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Trump announces pardon for former Virginia sheriff convicted of federal bribery charges
President Donald Trump announced he is granting a 'full and unconditional pardon' to a former Virginia sheriff, Scott Jenkins, who was convicted of conspiracy, honest services fraud and bribery. 'This Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice, and doesn't deserve to spend a single day in jail,' Trump claimed in a Monday Truth Social post. Jenkins, the former sheriff of Culpeper County, was set to report to jail Tuesday. 'He is a wonderful person, who was persecuted by the Radical Left 'monsters,' and 'left for dead.' This is why I, as President of the United States, see fit to end his unfair sentence, and grant Sheriff Jenkins a FULL and Unconditional Pardon. He will NOT be going to jail tomorrow, but instead will have a wonderful and productive life,' Trump added. In March, under the Trump administration, Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for 'accepting over $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointing numerous Northern Virginia businessmen as auxiliary deputy sheriffs within his department,' according to a release from the US attorney's office for the Western District of Virginia. He was convicted by a jury in December 2024 of one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services fraud, and seven counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. Jenkins accepted bribes in the form of campaign contributions from three co-defendants and others, including two undercover FBI agents, according to the US attorney's office, and then rewarded them with the auxiliary deputy sheriff positions. '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 statement at the time of his 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. I am grateful to the FBI for their tireless work on this investigation,' Lee added. Jenkins was elected sheriff of Culpeper County in 2011 and took office in January 2012. He was reelected in 2015 and 2019.
