It's not just because of his contempt of court conviction, although that is a big part of it - how can you say you stand for the rule of law and then pardon someone who not only ignores the rule of law but brags that he is above it? Arpaio is famously quoted as saying that he answers to no one - not the governor, not the president, and apparently in his mind not even the courts.
This op-ed piece from USAToday lays out the many cases of abuse of power during Arpaio's career as the self-proclaimed "America's Sheriff" - including arresting or intimidating political opponents, faking an assassination attempt and trying to frame an ex-con for it, abusing prisoners, ignoring almost 400 sexual assault cases many of which involved minors- and the millions of dollars he cost Maricopa County citizens in legal fees and settlements because of those abuses.
It's an op-ed piece, not a news article, so the fact it contains the writer's opinion is a given. However, there are links embedded in the piece to actual reporting for almost every one of his points, so don't just knee-jerk reject it as "fake news" - do some research:
http://tinyurl.com/ycwbfy8x
There was also an article in WAPO yesterday by someone who spent a year in one of Arpaio's "tent prisons" because of a DWI, but you may have a problem accessing it due to their paywall:
http://tinyurl.com/y8l55nwh
(If that link doesn't work, try googling "WAPO article on Arpaio jail")
The point is - Arpaio is nothing even close to a hero and a "good cop". He's a vicious, hateful man who made a career out of profiling people who MIGHT be immigrants, abusing the people he arrested and the people who criticized him, ignoring crimes not related to his obsession with immigrants - and now he's been pardoned for a crime for which he has not been sentenced, not shown any remorse and not paid any restitution. This is wrong on so many levels and sets a dangerous precedent - my personal opinion is that this was a trial balloon for what will happen with the results of the Mueller investigation.
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