Remember the story of Scott Jenkins, the disgraced former Culpeper County sheriff sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for accepting $75,000 in bribes?
Well, OK, so, this Jenkins guy is a literal ass-kissing MAGA Republican, so he’s not going to have to serve out that prison term.
Seriously.
The guy pleaded his case to Donald Trump, who we all know has a soft spot in his heart for bribes, and got himself a pardon.
“Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ,” Trump, a convicted felon, wrote on social media on Monday, by way of announcing an unconditional pardon for Jenkins.
“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,’” Trump wrote, adding: “He will NOT be going to jail tomorrow, but instead will have a wonderful and productive life.”
Jenkins was, indeed, slated to start the 10-year sentence on Tuesday.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jenkins accepted cash bribes and bribes in the form of campaign contributions from co-defendants Rick Tariq Rahim, 55, of Great Falls, Fredric Gumbinner, 64, of Fairfax, and James Metcalf, 60, of Manassas, as well as at least five others, including two undercover FBI agents.
In return for the bribes, Jenkins appointed Rahim, Gumbinner and Metcalf, who have all pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy, as auxiliary deputy sheriffs, and issued them official Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office badges and credentials.
Jenkins also pressured local officials to approve a petition filed in Culpeper County Circuit Court by Rahim, who, like Jenkins, and like Trump, is a convicted felon, to restore his right to possess a firearm.
The petition falsely stated that Rahim resided in Culpeper County, because of course it did.
Now, it is true that Jenkins was tried and convicted by the Biden DOJ – the conviction was handed down back in December, with the charges dating back to 2023, before Jenkins was defeated in his bid for re-election, finishing a distant third in a three-way race.
The sentencing was done in March, and this is the quote on that part of the deal from the acting U.S. Attorney, Zachary T. Lee, who might want to start updating his resume sometime soon:
“Scott Jenkins violated his oath of office and the faith the citizens of Culpeper County placed in him when he engaged in a cash-for-badges scheme,” Lee said. “We hold our elected law enforcement officials to a higher standard of conduct, and this case proves that when those officials use their authority for unjust personal enrichment, the Department of Justice will hold them accountable.”
The DOJ will hold people like this convicted felon sheriff accountable until the convicted felon sheriff makes a personal plea to the convicted felon president.
There, fixed that for you, Zach.
In addition to the blatant criminality, this Jenkins guy was a self-styled “constitutional sheriff,” in line with the far-right extremist doctrine that holds that sheriffs have unchecked authority to interpret and enforce the Constitution within their jurisdictions.
Sounds like a certain president who thinks he has unchecked authority to interpret, enforce and rewrite the Constitution on a whim.
What else do we need to know about this Scott Jenkins guy – well, he vowed in 2020 to “deputize thousands of my citizens” to circumvent gun-control regulations being debated by the Virginia General Assembly.
Think that one through: thousands of MAGA gun nuts running around the county thinking they’re sheriff’s deputies.
That would make the drive up 29 from Charlottesville to DC so much more fun, would it not?
One other thing to know about Scott Jenkins: the post he made to the sheriff’s office Facebook page in 2020, in which he wrote that “the Black Lives Matter movement is not peaceful and at their heart are violent. They may bring their violence to any community at any time and especially where they see weakness in local government officials.”
Given the opportunity to walk back the comment, Jenkins had this to say to a DC TV station:
“It’s one thing to be against what they consider excessive force or high-profile incidents they are talking about more recently. It’s one thing to have strong feelings about that, I understand, and they want their voices heard. I’m talking about a group that they are not saying they’re anti-law enforcement and that we only want to defund, they’re saying we want to kill and assault law enforcement. There’s a big difference there,” Jenkins said.
So, there you have it: Scott Jenkins, racist White gun nut convicted felon MAGA extremist who sold his office for bribes.
Don’t be surprised if Trump ends up giving this guy a job.
(Kristi Noem: watch your back.)
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Chris Graham
