
Jenkins is the latest pardon Trump has given to loyal supporters.
WASHINGTON โ President Donald Trump said Monday that he is pardoning a former Virginia sheriff who was sentenced to 10 years in prison after a jury convicted him on federal bribery charges for deputizing several businessmen in exchange for cash payments.
Former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins, 53, was found guilty on fraud and bribery charges and sentenced in March. But on Monday, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that Jenkins and his family โhave been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ.”
โThis Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice, and doesnโt deserve to spend a single day in jail. He is a wonderful person, who was persecuted by the Radical Left โmonsters,โ and โleft for dead,โ Trump said in the post. โHe will NOT be going to jail tomorrow, but instead will have a wonderful and productive life.”
Messages seeking comment were left with Jenkins’ lawyers. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia was closed for the Memorial Day holiday.
Jenkins is the latest pardon Trump has given to loyal supporters. In April, he pardoned Nevada Republicanย Michele Fiore, who was awaiting sentencing on federal charges that she used money meant for a statue honoring a slain police officerย for personal costs, including plastic surgery.
In January, Trumpย pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, an underground website for selling drugs. Ulbricht had beenย sentenced to life in prison in 2015 after a high-profile prosecution that highlighted the internet’s role in illegal markets.
He alsoย pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimesย in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, including people convicted of assaulting police officers.
Jenkins wasย indicted in 2023 on 16 counts โ including conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery โ concerning programs receiving federal funds. In December, a jury found him guilty of one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services fraud, and seven counts of bribery.
Jenkins took the stand in his own defense and said there was no connection between the payments he received and the badges he handed out, according toย news reports. Testifying against Jenkins were two undercover FBI agents who were sworn in as auxiliary deputies in 2022 and immediately thereafter gave Jenkins envelopes with $5,000 and $10,000 cash, respectively.
Jenkins appealed his conviction in April.
Trump said Jenkins tried to offer evidence in his defense, but U.S. District Judge Robert Ballou, a Biden appointee, โrefused to allow it, shut him down, and then went on a tirade.โ
Acting United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee said at the time that Jenkins violated his oath of office โand this case proves that when those officials use their authority for unjust personal enrichment, the Department of Justice will hold them accountable.โ
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