CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Law and order Donald Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio, the law and order sheriff convicted of criminal contempt for defying lawful orders, from two federal judges, over racial profiling.

President Trump issued the pardon of his fellow birther before Arpaio had been sentenced. The former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, faced no more than 6 months in jail.

Trump had initially asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions if the Department of Justice could drop its case against Arpaio. Sessions declined Trump's request, but did tell the president he had the legal authority to pardon Arpaio.

Judges: Arpaio violated 4th and 14th Amendments

The conviction stemmed from a class action lawsuit, on behalf of Latinos, brought against Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, alleging they had engaged in harassment and illegal detainment in "pretext" stops using racial profiling.

Arpaio and the Sheriff's Office lost the case. Federal courts found Arpaio and the Sheriff's office violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and the Fourth Amendment. Arpaio was ordered to cease and desist from engaging in the racial profiling that he and his office were found guilty of.

After then repeatedly defying the lawful orders of the court, Arpaio was first found to be in civil contempt by U.S. District judge G. Murray Snow. When Arpaio continued to not only defy the federal court orders, but publicly boast that he was defying the orders, judge Snow referred the case to the Department of Justice.

The Department of Justice charged Arpaio, he was tried and convicted of criminal contempt by U.S. District judge Susan R. Bolton.

Trump and other Arpaio defenders have dismissed the conviction's legitimacy, claiming it was the result of judges creating laws from the bench. Justices Snow and Bolton did not create the 14th and 4th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, that Arpaio was found guilty of violating, they enforced those Constitution Amendments.

Investigation of Arpaio began under Bush Justice Dept.

Arpaio lost re-election by double digits after serving as sheriff for 24 years. Trump blamed the loss, and Arpaio's conviction on the Obama administration, saying they were politically motivated. However, the Department of Justice began looking at Arpaio's actions as sheriff during the administration of President George W. Bush. Arpaio was ultimately convicted by the Department of Justice under Trump-appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

It appears Arpaio lost by double-digits because the citizens of Maricopa County came to the conclusion that Arpaio was more focused and obsessed with running his draconian outdoor tent-city jail, and filling it with Latinos on trumped-up charges, than he was in policing real crimes in the county.

Bill Clinton's 140 pardons cited.

In defending his pardon of Arpaio, Trump cited President Obama's commutation of Chelsea Manning's sentence and President Bill Clinton issuing 140 pardons in the final days of his presidency, including a pardon of Democratic donor Marc Rich.

Clinton's pardons were as indefensible as Trump's Arpaio pardon. Two wrongs don't make a right and 140 wrongs don't make a right, either.

Arpaio faced no more than 6 months in jail. He should have been sentenced and served a little time wearing his infamous pink prison uniforms in his infamous, draconian outdoor tent jail, forced to buy his daily meals at inflated prices from vending machines, like he made his prisoners do.

This being NFL exhibition game season, the real reason Trump pardoned Arpaio is because he wanted to practice issuing pardons to prepare for indictments that may result from the Mueller investigation.