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Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was pardoned by President Donald Trump Friday evening.
The 85-year-old held his first interview with Fox News Host Sean Hannity just hours after being let off the hook. He said he loved the current president and would have continued to support him, pardon or not.
But the crux of the interview was Arpaio saying he would be holding a news conference to expose corruption that took place under President Barack Obama’s Department of Justice.
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You can hear the interview here:
“I’m going to have a news conference early next week to get to the bottom of this, to show the expose abuse of the judicial system and politics,” Arpaio said.
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“I’m not going down without trying to defend myself,” he added. “I think people will be shocked the news media were trying to destroy me for all of these years.”
When Hannity brought up “the abuse of the judiciary,” Arpaio said some people in Obama’s DOJ were eager to get rid of him. But he promised to bring that all to light next week, as he was in the middle of celebrating his wife’s birthday.
The official statement from the White House:
White House statement regarding President Donald Trump's pardon of former MCSO Sheriff Joe Arpaio. DETAILS: https://t.co/iOkCxTkNpO#abc15pic.twitter.com/1qS6ZNYyOz
— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) August 26, 2017
Arpaio was convicted in July of criminal contempt by a judge in Arizona for disobeying a federal order that prevented him from detaining people on the suspicion they might have been in the United States illegally. Arpaio could have faced up to six months in prison.
However, Trump hinted at pardoning Arpaio just days earlier during a rally in Phoenix on Tuesday.
“I think he’ll be just fine, OK?” the president said.
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Arpaio thanked Trump on Twitter Friday evening, saying he looked forward to “putting this chapter behind him” and helping Trump accomplish his presidential goals.
Thank you @realdonaldtrump for seeing my conviction for what it is: a political witch hunt by holdovers in the Obama justice department!
— Joe Arpaio (@RealSheriffJoe) August 26, 2017
Arpaio also thanked his loyal supporters “who stood shoulder to shoulder” with him throughout the years.
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