May27

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CorruptionWatch 2025: Trump Pardons Guilty-as-Sin Southern Sheriff

We have absolutely no desire to write items like this one; but ignoring wildly corrupt behavior is even worse. And so it is that we pass along this news about Donald Trump giving a full and complete pardon to former Sheriff Scott Jenkins, who was about to begin serving a 10-year sentence.

Here's Trump's announcement of the pardon:

Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ. In fact, during his trial, when Sheriff Jenkins tried to offer exculpatory evidence to support himself, the Biden Judge, Robert Ballou, refused to allow it, shut him down, and then went on a tirade. As we have seen, in Federal, City, and State Courts, Radical Left or Liberal Judges allow into evidence what they feel like, not what is mandated under the Constitution and Rules of Evidence. This Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice, and doesn't deserve to spend a single day in jail. 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.

We are glad we don't have to serve as judges in a "Donald Trump's most unhinged social media post of the week" contest. It would be a very, very tough job.

Now that you've read Donald Trump's version of events, here are the actual facts. Jenkins was sheriff of Culpeper County, VA, from 2012 through 2023. He put the word out that positions as auxiliary sheriff's deputies could be had in his department in exchange for cold, hard cash. That job does not pay anything, but it does come with a spiffy uniform and a title that one can put on a résumé. It also gives the bearer of the title certain police powers, like the ability to write tickets. In all, Jenkins collected more than $60,000 in bribes.

Robert Ballou was indeed appointed to the bench by Joe Biden. Trump is also undoubtedly correct that the judge rejected some evidence that Jenkins and his lawyers thought should have been allowed. Judges, of course, make decisions about what evidence to admit all the time, and pretty much by definition, every decision they make is a "good call" according to one side of the case, and "totally wrong" according to the other side.

It also helps to know that among the people who paid bribes to Jenkins were two undercover F.B.I. agents, and both testified during the trial. It is similarly useful to know that three of the six people who paid actual bribes to Jenkins (as opposed to being undercover agents) have already pled guilty and have been sentenced to prison time. Finally, while Trump implies that this was a bench trial, it was actually a jury trial, and the jury was unanimous in finding Jenkins guilty on all 12 counts he faced. In short, we're not exactly talking the Dreyfus Affair or Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, here.

In the end, with Trump, everything is about "what's in it for me?" And here, it's pretty clear why Trump chose this corrupt sheriff, in particular, for a pardon:

• The Narrative: It's hardly a keen insight, but Trump wants people to believe that he is as pure as the driven snow, and that his various indictments (plus his convictions) are fake news. Every time he pardons someone, and then goes on a harangue about the weaponized justice system, it advances the narrative Trump is trying to peddle about his own criminal acts.
  
  
• The A**-Kissing: Criminal defendants who are (1) MAGA and (2) in a hopeless position have figured out that puckering up and planting one on Trump's considerable posterior is actually a pretty good Hail Mary pass. Jenkins, for his part, did several interviews with local TV outlets last month in which he said it sure would be swell if that great American Donald Trump would come to the rescue and help lil' ol' Scott Jenkins, victim of a corrupt and lawless justice system. Trump, who is in the running for most gullible person on earth, just eats that stuff up.
  
  
• The Message: As with most of the other pardons, Trump here sends the message that if people are MAGA and break the law, he'll have their backs. As we have noted, it may not be true, but Trump doesn't mind using people and then not delivering on his part of a bargain.
  
  
• The Base: Jenkins is not only MAGA, he's also a Second Amendment fanatic. In particular, when the Democratic-controlled legislature was thinking about restrictions on gun ownership, Jenkins announced he would deputize every person in Culpeper County, thus allowing them to play by "police" gun rules, as opposed to "civilian" gun rules. He has become a mini-celebrity in right-wing circles for this.

Who knows who the next pardon will go to? Maybe they'll have a reality show in which 12 convicted felons compete for amnesty. The only thing we are sure of is that, with that pardon, Trump will put someone on the street who should actually remain behind bars. (Z)