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Were Charges Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio Politically Motivated?

Charges of abuse of power against Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio were dropped on Friday. He still faces charges of racial profiling.

According to The Huffington Post, federal charges of abuse of power against Arizona’s Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpiao were quietly dropped on Friday. He and his department were being investigated for alleged misuse of county credit cards as well as other misuse of jail funds. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Birmingham Scheel reportedly released a statement saying her office "is closing its investigation into allegations of criminal conduct" by current and former members of the sheriff's and county attorney's offices. The Arizona based Assistant U.S. Attorney reportedly claimed to be acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice. In her statement she wrote, “After careful review, we do not believe the allegations presented to us are prosecutable as crimes."

Arpiao has claimed all along that these charges were all politically motivated. He has earned admiration from some and disapproval from others for his tough stance on law enforcement. He has also been outspoken in his opposition of the current administration. Arpiao was reportedly told the charges had been dropped while he was still in Tampa after attending the Republican National Convention.

The Huffington Post reports that some people question the timing of the announcement, which was late afternoon on a Friday before a holiday weekend. Traditionally, that is a time when people pay the least attention to the news.

The 80-year old sheriff, who is running for a sixth term, is still facing civil charges that his office racially profiles Latinos, retaliates against critics of its policies and bases it actions on citizen complaints that are not allegations of crimes. However, a find against Arpaio in those cases would not result in jail time.

What do you think? Were the charges against Arpaio politically motivated and does the dropping of the charges indicate this?

George Wilson September 3, 2012 at 08:03 pm
@larry Reid
The Republicans are the ones engaged in a witchhunt against Holder.
Larry Reid September 3, 2012 at 08:16 pm
My theory for the high number in prison is that they broke the law and were convicted in a court of law.
My suggested solution to minimize costs would be to consider other forms of punishment for non-violent criminals. I would like to see more community service terms and perhaps probation in place of prison time. If you are arrested for selling drugs, then I think you should go to prison but if you're arrested for smoking pot while jaywalking for the tenth time, I would suggest adding more to the fines, probation and community service. Armed robbers, rapists, child abusers and murderers belong in a cage.
Larry Reid September 3, 2012 at 08:21 pm
Fine George. I don't care who it is out to seek justice against Holder. The guy is an Armed Robber and a Murderer and he belongs in a cage. If he had nothing to do with Fast and Furious but lied about it? Fine. Just fire him and charge him harshly for lying to congress. But I have a sick feeling that Holder has no shame and knew full well what he approved so he should live in a cage with a big boyfriend for the rest of his crooked life.
Racer X September 3, 2012 at 08:21 pm
Actually George, the folks that elected the sheriff with 37 felony counts in Clayton County are from YOUR camp, the same people that support Obama.
The only thing Joe is guilty of is not being politically correct, for which I applaud him.
Racer X September 3, 2012 at 09:08 pm
Abelardo- That's not very nice. Sheriff Joe, nor I, would have no issues with you since you are here legally, I assume. Racist is an ugly word that should be reserved for people who hate ALL folks in any certain minority group.
Racer X September 3, 2012 at 09:12 pm
Larry- Time for what, him to be one of the dead people? He does look pretty close I must admit, but we shouldn't make fun of the elderly.
Chris September 3, 2012 at 09:14 pm
Actually, the word is overused and rarely used correctly when spewing nonsense like George and Abelardo Casillas.
rac·ist   [rey-sist] Show IPA noun 1. a person who believes in racism, the doctrine that a certain human race is superior to any or all others.
Racer X September 3, 2012 at 09:24 pm
George- "ie,minorities,students,and the elderly."
Have you ever heard of a student without an ID? C'mon, really? My mother is 84 and blind yet she has identification and always has. Your assumption that minorities don't have IDs is nothing short of racist. Your argument is full of holes lad. The only people I have ever met without identification, had none for nefarious reasons. All I hear you saying is that Obama needs the votes of people who are unaccountable in order to win the election. Which is nefarious in itself.
George Wilson September 3, 2012 at 09:40 pm
@Mike Horsman
Mike if you are a student from another state you may not have the state where you are attending schools I.D.You have not read in detail my posts where I give examples. Also their has been very little actual voter fraud. Many of the elderly do not drive and therefore do not have a drivers license. Requiring a person to pay for a picture ID harkens back to the old Jim Crow Poll tax that discouraged minorities from voting. If my arguments are full of holes than I wonder why recent court decisions in some states have put voter ID laws on hold because of constitutional issues and the violation of the Voting Rights Act. Today's front page AJC gives a good overview of this issue. Indeed three Supreme Court judges agreed with me on Georgia's voter ID Law.
Racer X September 3, 2012 at 09:41 pm
My solution would be to take all three time losers (felonies) out into a field, shoot them and push them in a hole. Problem solved.
All other prisoners should be put on 60 hour per week work details to earn their keep. You'd have to pinch off a lot of folks heads at first but crime would drop dramatically and before long there would be very few cases of repeat offenders.
Racer X September 3, 2012 at 09:43 pm
Larry- Speaking of criminals, have you heard if Jackson is still hiding from his past in the nut house?
George Wilson September 3, 2012 at 09:45 pm
@Chris
You are incorrect, I don't believe I have used that term "Racist" in any of my comments.
Jimmy September 3, 2012 at 09:52 pm
George, if you're a student from another state then you should be voting in the precinct where you are from...
You just explained to us how somebody could easily vote twice. Thank you for making the point for voter ID laws so eloquently.
Racer X September 3, 2012 at 09:54 pm
George- If you are a student at a college, I don't care where it is, you have an ID.
Even if there were ZERO voter fraud, people should have ID to enter a voting facility in the interest of everyone else's security. My mother hasn't driven for 10 years and has a Georgia ID that cost her NOTHING. Also, why do you insist that minorities are less likely to have IDs than anyone else? The reason this issue has been put on hold in many states is because everybody has become so concerned with being PC that, in the confusion, common sense has flown out the window. As far as three Supreme Court Justices agreeing with you, you have pointed out the crux of the bigger problem. Now, please, for everybody's sake, tell me why minorities are less likely to have ID than anyone else?
George Wilson September 3, 2012 at 10:27 pm
@Jimmy
It may not be convenient,practical,cost effective ,fair for a student to return to say California to vote. So the residence should be established at the school so that they can vote in the state where they are attending school. Some common sense here.Again very little if any voter fraud has actually happened.
Racer X September 3, 2012 at 10:51 pm
George- Again, poor example. A student from California can vote by mail with an absentee ballot, no trouble at all:
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_m.htm
Larry Reid September 3, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Sorry Mike. You will have to refresh my memory about Jackson in the nut house. : )
Racer X September 3, 2012 at 11:14 pm
You know, Jesse Jackson Jr. I lost track of him with everything else going on. He is the Representative from Chicago. His district has more people murdered in it annually than there are US casualties in the Middle East.
"He is the target of a probe by the House Ethics Committee into possible wrongdoing in how President Barack Obama’s Senate seat – now held by Sen. Mark Kirk – was filled. Only days before Jackson left Congress on medical leave, one of his former fundraisers, Raghuveer Nayak, was arrested by the FBI on charges of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to doctors. In addition, Jackson has faced turmoil at home. Last year his wife Sandi revealed that Jackson had engaged in an extramarital affair." ABC news He has been hiding behind psychiatrists to give his situation time for people to forget. I guess he thinks there has been enough time since the article says he should return in a few weeks. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/08/jackson-undergoing-treatement-for-bipolar-disorder/ They need to nail him up right next to Holder.
Racer X September 3, 2012 at 11:17 pm
I can read his mind: "Oh crap, they busted Nayak! WTF! They found out I been screwing around on my old lady! I need to take a detour to the hospital and hide out for awhile, give all this time to die down."
Tammy Osier September 3, 2012 at 11:26 pm
George might not have said the word "racist' in his responses, but he sure enough holds the below beliefs (the word token is his word of choice):
George Wilson 4:46 pm on Thursday, August 30, 2012 Understanding the demographics of the Republican convention: 1.Social Conservatives 2.Plutocrats 3.Aggrieved whites (Talk radio listeners) 4.DixieRepubs (former Dixiecrats) Some similarities with # 3 5.Token Hispanic,women,and African Americans (we need to get a little market share of these groups)
Larry Reid September 3, 2012 at 11:28 pm
Oh yea. That whole thing was suspect to say the least. wasn't he in rehab or was that just part of his disappearance act?
What a joke. Yea, I would love to see he and Holder both spend a long time in prison.
Tammy Osier September 3, 2012 at 11:38 pm
When you talk about the majority of the inmates being minority, you have to take into account the demographics of your location. Look at where maricopa County is and what it's make-up is. the same applied anywhere you go. Look on a docket list in extreme north Georgia- you'll see mostly white males. Why? Because that 's the majority of the demographics there. Not rocket science.
Racer X September 4, 2012 at 12:09 am
Why not just look at the nation as a whole? For example of the 56 police officers killed in the US in 2010, take a look at who the majority of the killers were, it's at the bottom of the page:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/leoka/leoka-2010/officers-feloniously-killed It seems that minorities are a minorities worst enemy when it comes to propagating stereotypes. It really makes feel sorry for the larger percentage of decent minorities that are working hard to improve their lot in life. It really is unfair.
George Wilson September 4, 2012 at 02:20 am
@ All
Without doubt much is revealed through the aforementioned comments.
Tim September 4, 2012 at 02:44 am
How is upholding the rule of law, as he was sworn and elected to do, racist?
Tim September 4, 2012 at 02:48 am
Is the minority status in Maricopa County applied because of political labeling or are they in fact the minority in that county? Meaning, are there more people of one ethnicity in Maricopa than another, making the prison population mostly "minorities"? I'm really curious as I do not know the ethnic diversity of Maricopa County, AZ. So many people put the label "minority" on any group other than white people, when in fact that majority of that population may be of a ethnic group other than white.
Chris September 4, 2012 at 02:49 am
It isn't Tim. It's what most of us wish we had more of. It's George's buddy Abelardo Casillas that thinks it's racist.
Tim September 4, 2012 at 02:53 am
Why is it so wrong to want to have people show ID to vote in an election? Especially when those being elected are being hired to do the job of the citizenship? We ask people for ID for everything, to write a check, to buy cigarettes and alcohol, to open a bank account, to use a credit card at Walmart, to apply for food stamps and welfare. You have to prove who you are to get a drivers license (well, for now anyway). So why is this considered a scam? There have truthfully been cases of voter fraud proven in court. And this is important to get it right as the folks elected are there to do the busines of the people, and we need to get that right.
George Wilson September 4, 2012 at 03:54 pm
Sheriff Joe Arpalo is not out of the legal woods yet.He has a civil case pending and and the U.S. Department of Justice has also sued the sheriff for alleged constitutional violations including racial profiling,retaliating against Arpaio critics,punishing Latino jail inmates and failing to adequately investigate a large number of sex crime cases .Like I said earlier,a crypto fascists.
Chris September 4, 2012 at 04:01 pm
@ All
Without doubt much is revealed through the aforementioned comments.

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