By Bo Erickson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump issued a pardon on Monday for a former Virginia sheriff who was convicted last year of federal bribery charges, averting prison time for the officer.
“Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL,” Trump posted online, issuing a full and unconditional pardon. “He will NOT be going to jail tomorrow, but instead will have a wonderful and productive life.”
Jenkins, a former Virginia sheriff who served an area about two hours outside Washington, D.C., was convicted by a jury in December 2024 for accepting more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointments as auxiliary deputy sheriffs.
In March, Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
The bribes came from several people in the form of campaign contributions, and in exchange, they were sworn into deputy sheriff positions and received badges and credentials, according to court documents and evidence presented at the trial.
“The bribe payors were not trained or vetted and did not render any legitimate services to the Sheriff’s Office,” the Justice Department said at the time.
Since his conviction, Jenkins has appealed directly to the Trump administration for relief. “I believe wholeheartedly in the president,” Jenkins said in April on a webinar hosted by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, according to the NBC4 affiliate in Washington.
“I believe if he heard the information, I know he would help if he knew my story,” Jenkins said, referencing Trump.
In issuing the pardon, Trump in his online post called Jenkins a “victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice.”
The top Justice Department official who announced Jenkins’ conviction last year did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This latest pardon follows Trump’s January pardon of almost everyone criminally charged with participating in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, a February pardon of the former Democratic governor of Illinois who was convicted for trying to sell former President Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat, and others.
(Reporting by Bo EricksonEditing by Rod Nickel)
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