Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
Share this @internewscast.com

Left: Culpeper County, Virginia, Sheriff Scott Howard Jenkins (Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office). Right: President Donald Trump delivers a speech during the 157th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, May 26, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump has pardoned a beleaguered Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery and fraud, arguing he was actually a “victim.”

In December, Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Howard Jenkins was found guilty of involvement in conspiracy, honest services fraud, and multiple bribery charges involving programs with federal funding. He was scheduled to begin a 10-year prison sentence on Tuesday — until the president intervened on his behalf.

Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.

“Sheriff Scott Jenkins, alongside his wife Patricia and family, have endured a nightmare at the hands of a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ,” Trump posted on social media, repeating serious allegations against former President Joe Biden and his defunct administration — claims that Biden, his allies, and ex-Attorney General Merrick Garland have consistently refuted.

In his Monday Truth Social post, Trump claimed Jenkins tried to offer vindicating evidence during his trial last year but that U.S. District Judge Robert Ballou of the Western District of Virginia denied him from doing so. The president argued that federal and state courts across the country have acted in a similar manner, continuing his verbal assault on judges — many of whom have denied him from enacting core elements of his executive agenda.

“This Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice, and doesn’t deserve to spend a single day in jail,” Trump wrote of Jenkins. “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,” the president concluded.

Law&Crime reached out to Ballou, a Biden appointee, for comment on the accusation.

Jenkins was convicted of accepting more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointing several Northern Virginia businessmen as “auxiliary deputy sheriffs within his department,” the Justice Department wrote in March following the ex-sheriff’s sentencing hearing. He took bribes from at least eight people, according to evidence produced at trial, including two undercover FBI agents. Three other men pled guilty “for their roles in the conspiracy.”

The former sheriff of Culpeper County, which lies about 60 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., also “pressured” local officials to restore the right of Rick Rahim, a convicted felon and one of the alleged coconspirators, to possess a firearm, “falsely” stating that Rahim lived in Culpeper County, according to the DOJ.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Tragic Discovery: Police Uncover Deceased Newborn After Parents Report Miscarriage

Share A troubling case has emerged from Kentucky, where a mother and…

Custody Dispute Turns Deadly: Woman and Accomplices Charged in Plot to Murder Elderly Mother

Insets, from left: Alice Robson (Stuart Funeral Home), Melissa Beacom, Robert Jack…

Kentucky Couple Faces Reckless Homicide Charges in Infant Death After Miscarriage Claim

In Kentucky, a couple is facing charges of reckless homicide and additional…

Back-to-Back Drive-By Shootings Impact Western Sydney in Under an Hour

Authorities have determined that there is no connection between two separate shootings…

FBI Reopens Investigation in Nancy Guthrie Neighborhood: Ransom Note Demands 1 Bitcoin for Suspect Identification

On Wednesday, the FBI intensified their efforts in the Arizona neighborhood of…

Outrage as Trump’s Attorney-General Dodges Accountability in Epstein Victims’ Appeal

“Could those who have yet to meet with the Department of Justice…

British Inquest Determines Intoxicated Texas Father Responsible for Daughter’s Fatal Shooting

A Texas grand jury has found insufficient evidence to indict Kris Harrison…

Chilling Courtroom Moment: Convicted Killer Smirks While Facing Sentencing for Family Annihilation

Inset: Marshawn Stepney (St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department). Background: The intersection near…

False Walmart Assault Claim Could Harm Genuine Victims, Police Warn

Inset: Autumn Tomlin (Glasgow Police Department). Background: The Kentucky Walmart where police…

Farmer Defends Tractors with Shotgun in Tense Repossession Standoff, Authorities Report

Inset: Cade Carter (Fremont County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Cade Carter’s Idaho property…

Controversy Arises as School’s Ban on Teacher’s ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ Sign Sparks Lawsuit Alleging Unconstitutional Political Resistance

Inset: Sarah Inama (Idaho Education News). Background: The Idaho school where social…

Report Reveals Heated Trump Debate Led to Father’s Gun Incident with Daughter

Lucy Harrison (Cheshire police). A Texas father’s tragic shooting of his daughter,…