Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump has granted a full pardon to Scott Jenkins, the former sheriff of Culpeper, Virginia, who was convicted in 2021 on federal corruption charges related to an alleged bribery scheme.
Jenkins, who previously served as sheriff of Culpeper County, was convicted last year on one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services fraud, and seven counts of bribery involving federally funded programs. In March, he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
“Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ. In fact, during his trial, when Sheriff Jenkins tried to offer exculpatory evidence to support himself, the Biden Judge, Robert Ballou, refused to allow it, shut him down, and then went on a tirade,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday.
“As we have seen, in Federal, City, and State Courts, Radical Left or Liberal Judges allow into evidence what they feel like, not what is mandated under the Constitution and Rules of Evidence. This Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice, and doesn’t deserve to spend a single day in jail. He is a wonderful person, who was persecuted by the Radical Left ‘monsters,’ and ‘left for dead.’ This is why I, as President of the United States, see fit to end his unfair sentence, and grant Sheriff Jenkins a FULL and Unconditional Pardon. He will NOT be going to jail tomorrow, but instead will have a wonderful and productive life,” he added.
Federal prosecutors claimed that Jenkins took bribes in cash and campaign donations from co-defendants Rick Rahim, Fredric Gumbinner, James Metcalf and at least five others, including two undercover FBI agents.
In return, Jenkins allegedly appointed those individuals as auxiliary deputy sheriffs, a sworn law enforcement role, and provided them with official badges and credentials from the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office, according to authorities.
Prosecutors said the individuals who received the appointments were neither properly trained nor vetted and performed no legitimate duties for the sheriff’s department.
“I truly believe if I could get an hour of time with someone in the administration and lay out some facts with my attorney and I really believe if they could hear the other side which I couldn’t get in front of the jury — I believe wholeheartedly in the president,” Jenkins said during a webinar by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association in April.
