Under the Radar Blog Archives Select Date… August, 2020 July, 2020 June, 2020 May, 2020 April, 2020 March, 2020 February, 2020 January, 2020 December, 2019 November, 2019 October, 2019 September, 2019

Sheriff Joe Arpaio (pictured) was awaiting a potential sentence of up to a year in prison when President Donald Trump pardoned the former lawman on Aug. 25. | Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images House Democrats ask judge to reject Arpaio pardon

More than 30 House members are urging a federal judge to reject President Donald Trump's pardon of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio on a contempt of court charge.

The lawmakers—all liberal Democrats—filed an amicus brief Wednesday arguing that Trump's pardon amounts to an unconstitutional intrusion on the judicial branch's ability to ensure that its orders are obeyed.

"A full and unconditional presidential pardon....effectively deprives the Court of 'the independent means of self-protection,' and makes the Court dependent on the Executive," the House members argue in the new brief. "The pardon here is an intentional usurpation of the Court’s authority by the President. President Trump does not pretend that his pardon of the Defendant is based upon the considerations of grace that usually justify the exercise of the pardon power."

In July, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton found Arpaio guilty of defying another federal judge's order to end ethnic profiling of Latinos. Arpaio was awaiting a potential sentence of up to a year in prison when Trump pardoned the former lawman on Aug. 25.

Sign up here for POLITICO Huddle A daily play-by-play of congressional news in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Arpaio's lawyers have argued that the pardon should wipe out not only his conviction, but all rulings in the case, including the judge's guilty finding. The Justice Department agrees with that stance.

Several outside groups critical of Arpaio have urged the judge not only to refuse to vacate her earlier rulings, but to ignore the pardon altogether.

Bolton has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 4 on how she should deal with the pardon.

The House members' amicus brief was prepared by former Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.), along with Arizona lawyers Terry Goddard and Spencer Scharff.

