Half of Arizonans surveyed over the weekend believe that President Donald Trump should not announce a pardon for former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio at a Tuesday rally, compared with 21 percent who said it would be a good move, according to a new poll.
Another 29 percent said they weren't sure or didn't know.
The poll results, released Monday morning, come amid speculation that Trump will use his Phoenix visit as an occasion to pardon the controversial lawman after his recent criminal-contempt conviction.
From Arizona's senior senator, John McCain:
“No one is above the law and the individuals entrusted with the privilege of being sworn law officers should always seek to be beyond reproach in their commitment to fairly enforcing the laws they swore to uphold. Mr. Arpaio was found guilty of criminal contempt for continuing to illegally profile Latinos living in Arizona based on their perceived immigration status in violation of a judge’s orders. The President has the authority to make this pardon, but doing so at this time undermines his claim for the respect of rule of law as Mr. Arpaio has shown no remorse for his actions.”
Arpaio was convicted of defying court order to stop violating #4thAmendment. It's a pardon of a govt official who ignored Bill of Rights.— Justin Amash (@justinamash) August 26, 2017
We've been covering Joe Arpaio for more than 20 years. Here's a couple of things you should know about him... 1/many— PhoenixNewTimes (@phoenixnewtimes) August 26, 2017
