President Donald Trump — who is "seriously considering" pardoning former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio — has the legal right to do so, renowned civil rights lawyer Alan Dershowitz told Newsmax TV on Thursday.
"That's completely within the power of the president," Dershowitz told Newsmax's JD Hayworth.
"He has the right to look at all the facts and if he thinks it's political, then he obviously should issue a pardon."
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Last month, a judge found Arpaio guilty of criminal contempt for violating a 2011 court order in a racial profiling case and faces up to six months in jail and a fine when he is sentenced Oct. 5.
Arpaio — who lost his bid for reelection as Maricopa County sheriff last November after 24 years in office — was known for his crackdowns on undocumented immigrants. He has been a longtime supporter of Trump.
"It's important to know all the facts of all the cases," Dershowitz, a Harvard Law professor emeritus, told Hayworth. "The fact that it was done in the run-up to reelection makes it sound very political. The fact that they concocted it as a nonjury trial makes it sound political.
"But I'd need to know more about the facts and more about whether he really defied a court order in order to conclude whether this falls into the category that I've been writing about, namely the criminalization of political differences."
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