Reichert Disagrees With Arpaio Pardon

ISSAQUAH, WA - U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Issaquah, has released a statement on President Donald Trump's pardoning of former sheriff Joe Arpaio. In a recent Facebook post, Reichert, the former King County Sheriff, says he disagrees with the pardon. Arpaio had been convicted of criminal contempt of court for disobeying a federal judge's order to stop racially profiling Latinos.

"As a former member of law enforcement and now as a Member of Congress, I have spent my career committed to upholding the rule of law. No individual is above the law and I do not agree with the President’s decision to pardon Sheriff Joe Arpaio for disobeying the very laws his job required him to enforce," Reichert wrote on Facebook.

Arpaio was facing up to six months in prison. Reports over the weekend indicate that Trump has long planned to help Arpaio out of his legal bind - Arpaio and Trump were two of the most high-profile members of the "birther" movement. Trump had asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions earlier this year if it would be possible for the Justice Department to drop the contempt charges against Arpaio.

Reichert has been under increasing pressure from progressive activists in his district to distance himself from Trump. Last week, activists from the local Indivisible groups confronted Reichert when he made an appearance at a health clinic in Auburn (pictured). The Indivisible activists have been pressuring Reichert to resist repeal of Obamacare or cuts to federal healthcare funding, but lately they have also been asking Reichert to vote to censure Trump over the comments the president made after the deadly attack in Charlottesville, Va.

Image via Indivisible 8