Recall effort against Arizona's Sheriff Joe Arpaio fails
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That makes sense, unless you're race baiting...
If it's not the case I'd say there are people up the line who are even more corrupt than Arpaio is made out to be.
Every employee is someone else's responsibility! I
If it's not the case I'd say there are people up the line who are even more corrupt than Arpaio is made out to be.
Phoenix, Arizona - Established in 1993, the Maricopa County "Tent City" Jail has housed nearly 500,000 inmates. The outdoor facility houses both male and female inmates in old Korean War army tents. The jail exposes inmates to high temperatures during the summer. Inmates sleep under the tents and wear the old-fashioned jail uniform black-and-white stripes uniforms. These images correspond to the celebration of the 18th anniversary that took place in the same spot where Sheriff Arpaio announced in 1993 the establishment of this jail. A granite marker was unveiled to commemorate the 18th anniversary. "Tent City" has been a target of much criticism since its opening, but Sheriff Arpaio says the conditions there are similar to the situation for U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan who also live in tents and under harsh climate conditions.
Here are photos of some of the inmates..
Looks pretty diverse culturally to me..
Lol.
Arizonans must be the biggest d@mn fools anywhere to elect someone that has cost them so many millions and will cost them millions more. Little do they realize, the joke's on them.
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Jail is not supposed to be fun, nor is it someplace you would want to be, yet people who criticize the sheriff for doing what the legal registered voters have put him in office to do. If you don't like the job he is doing - DON'T COMMIT CRIME IN THE COUNTY!!!!!
As for costing the taxpayers money in lawsuits, he has saved the taxpayers 10 times that amount.. 1. by not having to build new expensive prisons, a cost of $500 million, opting out for tent cities instead.. 2. taking meat off the menu as well as other adjustments to the prisoners lifestyle..
So by your math he cost the taxpayers 51 million in lawsuits but saved them 500 million by not having to build new prisons.
Phoenix, Arizona - Established in 1993, the Maricopa County "Tent City" Jail has housed nearly 500,000 inmates. The outdoor facility houses both male and female inmates in old Korean War army tents. The jail exposes inmates to high temperatures during the summer. Inmates sleep under the tents and wear the old-fashioned jail uniform black-and-white stripes uniforms. These images correspond to the celebration of the 18th anniversary that took place in the same spot where Sheriff Arpaio announced in 1993 the establishment of this jail. A granite marker was unveiled to commemorate the 18th anniversary. "Tent City" has been a target of much criticism since its opening, but Sheriff Arpaio says the conditions there are similar to the situation for U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan who also live in tents and under harsh climate conditions.
Here are photos of some of the inmates..
Looks pretty diverse culturally to me..
That one gal near the centre of the 2nd picture may have a bit on an attitude!
I don't suppose he's seen as being particularly democratic and that bothers a lot people!
Looking at the pictures they are seem to be fairly well nourished and I don't see any of them grimacing in pain.
Nobody is saying he shouldn't do his job - just do it right so that people wouldn't be suing him and costing the taxpayers millions. And remember from my earlier posts that one pregnant woman died because she was forced to work under his conditions. He should have been arrested for that - had she been your daughter you would have demanded no less.
As for the notion that he saved taxpayers any money in new prisons, do you have any proof that his criminal actions (with half of the lawsuits still unsettled at this point) ''saved'' Arizonans any money? After all, we know for a fact that millions more were also lost due to the tourism boycott of that state:
Arizona Businesses Hope to Put SB 1070 Behind Them - US News
That's just the way Liberals are now.. suing every Conservative they don't like.. they did the same with Sahra Palin.
They waste the courts time and taxpayers money with stupid frivolous claims..
Except that you forgot (again) that it is Republican judges who made the rulings in favor of the claimants against Arpaio.
love the photo opsThat one gal near the centre of the 2nd picture may have a bit on an attitude!
I don't suppose he's seen as being particularly democratic and that bothers a lot people!
Looking at the pictures they are seem to be fairly well nourished and I don't see any of them grimacing in pain.
Hey Joe - where are all your "friends" now?
Check under rocks for Sheriff Joe Arpaio's 'friends'
After an exhaustive geological survey of our vast desert, I've concluded that there are just enough rocks in Arizona for all of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's "friends" to hide under.
That's why you don't see any of them.
And why you haven't heard from any of them.
I tried the old strategy of going outside and shouting, "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
It didn't work.
For more than 20 years ambitious Republicans have been genuflecting before Arpaio, seeking his blessing. And he has been very accommodating.
So where are they now?
Friends don't abandon friends when they are in trouble, do they?
ROBERTS: Contempt hearing unmasks Joe Arpaio
RECAP: A case of surprises
Where are the presidential hopefuls who courted Arpaio's favor? George W. Bush. Mitt Romney. Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Where is Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who praised and thanked the sheriff for his endorsement?
Where are the members of the Arizona congressional delegation, many of whom have used Arpaio's endorsements and his presence at fundraising events to help finance their campaigns?
What is happening now with Arpaio reminds me of what happened late in the career and life of Sen. Barry Goldwater. After he spoke out in support of allowing gays to serve in the military and said he wouldn't outlaw abortion Goldwater was vilified by Arizona Republicans who seemed to have forgotten how much they owed to the man in just about every way: philosophically, economically, politically.
It's a little like that now as Arpaio goes through a civil contempt hearing before federal Judge Murray Snow.
He's on his own.
Arpaio stood firm in support of the awful law SB 1070, helping to provide support and cover for Gov. Jan Brewer, and to help her get reelected.
The same is true of many members of the state legislature. And lesser office holders. He's had their backs.
So where is everyone?
The only Republican whose silence makes sense is Sen. John McCain, who has feuded with the sheriff for years.
Shouldn't the sheriff's friends stand with Arpaio in his time of need? Couldn't they argue that, even though Arpaio has made mistakes, it should not diminish a lifetime of service? Couldn't they point out that Arpaio has been a soldier, police officer, federal agent and sheriff?
If I can do it (and I most definitely am not his friend) why can't they?
The truth is, they can. They choose not to do so because they're afraid being tainted. With politicians, fear trumps friendship.
Nationally-syndicated talk show host Rush Limbaugh could help. He's praised Arpaio in the past, even writing a blurb for one of Arpaio's books that reads: "Speaking plainly and courageously about crime, punishment, and politics, this book demands to be read."
Arpaio has traveled the country in support of political candidates seeking his endorsement, even after his office was being investigated by the feds
I asked him prior to the last election if requests for support had fallen off dramatically.
"Everybody's still asking," Arpaio said.
Candidates on all levels received Arpaio's endorsement last November. So where are they?
A journalist in pursuit of answers leaves no stone unturned.
If I did that now, I'd unearth all of Joe's "friends."
Check under rocks for Sheriff Joe Arpaio's 'friends'
After an exhaustive geological survey of our vast desert, I've concluded that there are just enough rocks in Arizona for all of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's "friends" to hide under.
That's why you don't see any of them.
And why you haven't heard from any of them.
I tried the old strategy of going outside and shouting, "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
It didn't work.
For more than 20 years ambitious Republicans have been genuflecting before Arpaio, seeking his blessing. And he has been very accommodating.
So where are they now?
Friends don't abandon friends when they are in trouble, do they?
ROBERTS: Contempt hearing unmasks Joe Arpaio
RECAP: A case of surprises
Where are the presidential hopefuls who courted Arpaio's favor? George W. Bush. Mitt Romney. Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Where is Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who praised and thanked the sheriff for his endorsement?
Where are the members of the Arizona congressional delegation, many of whom have used Arpaio's endorsements and his presence at fundraising events to help finance their campaigns?
What is happening now with Arpaio reminds me of what happened late in the career and life of Sen. Barry Goldwater. After he spoke out in support of allowing gays to serve in the military and said he wouldn't outlaw abortion Goldwater was vilified by Arizona Republicans who seemed to have forgotten how much they owed to the man in just about every way: philosophically, economically, politically.
It's a little like that now as Arpaio goes through a civil contempt hearing before federal Judge Murray Snow.
He's on his own.
Arpaio stood firm in support of the awful law SB 1070, helping to provide support and cover for Gov. Jan Brewer, and to help her get reelected.
The same is true of many members of the state legislature. And lesser office holders. He's had their backs.
So where is everyone?
The only Republican whose silence makes sense is Sen. John McCain, who has feuded with the sheriff for years.
Shouldn't the sheriff's friends stand with Arpaio in his time of need? Couldn't they argue that, even though Arpaio has made mistakes, it should not diminish a lifetime of service? Couldn't they point out that Arpaio has been a soldier, police officer, federal agent and sheriff?
If I can do it (and I most definitely am not his friend) why can't they?
The truth is, they can. They choose not to do so because they're afraid being tainted. With politicians, fear trumps friendship.
Nationally-syndicated talk show host Rush Limbaugh could help. He's praised Arpaio in the past, even writing a blurb for one of Arpaio's books that reads: "Speaking plainly and courageously about crime, punishment, and politics, this book demands to be read."
Arpaio has traveled the country in support of political candidates seeking his endorsement, even after his office was being investigated by the feds
I asked him prior to the last election if requests for support had fallen off dramatically.
"Everybody's still asking," Arpaio said.
Candidates on all levels received Arpaio's endorsement last November. So where are they?
A journalist in pursuit of answers leaves no stone unturned.
If I did that now, I'd unearth all of Joe's "friends."
Appeals court panel casts doubt on Arizona sheriff's lawsuit against Obama's immigration actions
Appeals court panel casts doubt on Arizona sheriff's lawsuit against Obama's immigration actions
A federal appeals court panel Monday was not impressed with a legal challenge to President Obama's 2014 immigration actions brought by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio last November. Lindsay Dunsmuir has the details:
Two of the three judges weighing the case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit signaled some agreement with a D.C. federal judge who ruled in late December that Arpaio lacked standing to sue, a provision in U.S. law that means he has to prove he has been directly harmed.
Arpaio contends that his office has been harmed because, among other reasons, there are criminals who would not be deported in the country as a result.
"I wasn't entirely clear ... there is no suspension of deportation with respect to those people," Judge Nina Pillard, an Obama appointee, said to Arpaio's lawyer Larry Klayman.
They are more likely to be deported, she added.
The movement of the case, Joseph Arpaio v. Barack Obama, et al, now at the D.C. Court of Appeals, stands in stark contrast to how another case, Texas v. United States, is proceeding in the 5th Circuit, where the pace has been far more leisurely.
After Arpaio's November filing, a federal judge in the District of Columbia threw out the challenge the following month. Arpaio then filed an appeal, which was heard by the appeals panel Monday.
The Texas challenge was filed in December. Two months later, Judge Andrew Hanen ruled that the 26 states did have "standing" to bring the lawsuit and issued a preliminary injunction to stop Obama's immigration programs from moving forward just two days before they were due to go into effect.
Though Hanen issued that decision in time to block the immigration actions, he has displayed little sense of urgency since. Hanen first ignored and then rejected the administration's request to lift his injunction, forcing government lawyers to seek an injunction from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. All this and Judge Hanen still hasn't heard oral arguments in the case.
The good news here is that a 5th Circuit Appeals Court panel recently ruled unanimously that the state of Mississippi did not have standing to challenge Obama's 2012 executive actions on immigration.
Poor old Joe does not have the proper standing and cannot proceed with the case. Looks like he will likely have to pay for the legal costs incurred in his futile effort.
Appeals court panel casts doubt on Arizona sheriff's lawsuit against Obama's immigration actions
A federal appeals court panel Monday was not impressed with a legal challenge to President Obama's 2014 immigration actions brought by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio last November. Lindsay Dunsmuir has the details:
Two of the three judges weighing the case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit signaled some agreement with a D.C. federal judge who ruled in late December that Arpaio lacked standing to sue, a provision in U.S. law that means he has to prove he has been directly harmed.
Arpaio contends that his office has been harmed because, among other reasons, there are criminals who would not be deported in the country as a result.
"I wasn't entirely clear ... there is no suspension of deportation with respect to those people," Judge Nina Pillard, an Obama appointee, said to Arpaio's lawyer Larry Klayman.
They are more likely to be deported, she added.
The movement of the case, Joseph Arpaio v. Barack Obama, et al, now at the D.C. Court of Appeals, stands in stark contrast to how another case, Texas v. United States, is proceeding in the 5th Circuit, where the pace has been far more leisurely.
After Arpaio's November filing, a federal judge in the District of Columbia threw out the challenge the following month. Arpaio then filed an appeal, which was heard by the appeals panel Monday.
The Texas challenge was filed in December. Two months later, Judge Andrew Hanen ruled that the 26 states did have "standing" to bring the lawsuit and issued a preliminary injunction to stop Obama's immigration programs from moving forward just two days before they were due to go into effect.
Though Hanen issued that decision in time to block the immigration actions, he has displayed little sense of urgency since. Hanen first ignored and then rejected the administration's request to lift his injunction, forcing government lawyers to seek an injunction from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. All this and Judge Hanen still hasn't heard oral arguments in the case.
The good news here is that a 5th Circuit Appeals Court panel recently ruled unanimously that the state of Mississippi did not have standing to challenge Obama's 2012 executive actions on immigration.
Poor old Joe does not have the proper standing and cannot proceed with the case. Looks like he will likely have to pay for the legal costs incurred in his futile effort.
Arizonans to pay another $45 million thanks to that crook Arpaio:
Arizona racial profiling case to cost taxpayers $45 million
Source: Associated Press
Arizona racial profiling case to cost taxpayers $45 million
By JACQUES BILLEAUD, Associated Press | May 19, 2015 | Updated: May 19, 2015 4:12pm
PHOENIX (AP) — As county officials in metro Phoenix work to enact a budget for the next fiscal year, they are confronted with a looming financial liability: the legal costs associated with Sheriff Joe Arpaio's racial-profiling case.
Taxpayers are already on the hook for an estimated $45 million stemming from the racial-profiling lawsuit filed over Arpaio's signature immigration patrols — and the cost is expected to grow by millions more in the coming years as the county works to resolve the 7-year-old case.
The $45 million price tag consists of: $14.6 million spent over the last 18 months to carry out court-ordered changes at the agency; another $23.8 million budgeted over the next year to cover even more compliance costs; and $6.8 million in fees for lawyers on both sides.
Taxpayers are expected to face even more costs as Arpaio's office remains under the court's supervision and the possibility looms for another racial-profiling trial that the county will have to fund.
Read more: Arizona racial profiling case to cost taxpayers $45 million - Houston Chronicle
Total is approaching $100 million and this will likely increase as interest accumulates on the debts.
It would have been smarter to vote someone else into that office.
Arizona racial profiling case to cost taxpayers $45 million
Source: Associated Press
Arizona racial profiling case to cost taxpayers $45 million
By JACQUES BILLEAUD, Associated Press | May 19, 2015 | Updated: May 19, 2015 4:12pm
PHOENIX (AP) — As county officials in metro Phoenix work to enact a budget for the next fiscal year, they are confronted with a looming financial liability: the legal costs associated with Sheriff Joe Arpaio's racial-profiling case.
Taxpayers are already on the hook for an estimated $45 million stemming from the racial-profiling lawsuit filed over Arpaio's signature immigration patrols — and the cost is expected to grow by millions more in the coming years as the county works to resolve the 7-year-old case.
The $45 million price tag consists of: $14.6 million spent over the last 18 months to carry out court-ordered changes at the agency; another $23.8 million budgeted over the next year to cover even more compliance costs; and $6.8 million in fees for lawyers on both sides.
Taxpayers are expected to face even more costs as Arpaio's office remains under the court's supervision and the possibility looms for another racial-profiling trial that the county will have to fund.
Read more: Arizona racial profiling case to cost taxpayers $45 million - Houston Chronicle
Total is approaching $100 million and this will likely increase as interest accumulates on the debts.
It would have been smarter to vote someone else into that office.
It's not looking very good for corrupt sheriff joe:
Sheriff Arpaio spends up to $1 million to smear judge, fails miserably
Living in central Phoenix, I went to some of Netroots last week. After Sen. Elizabeth Warren's barn-burner on Friday, about 300 people, led by Puente Arizona, marched to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jail (one-minute video of the protest above). It was only 100 that day, a cool wave. Nearby, a couple thousand inmates were living in tents, where it can reach 135+.
In addition to exposing and condemning the sheriff's criminal practices, marchers had two demands: 1) that Immigration and Customs Enforcement be removed from his office, because immigration is a federal responsibility, not his—a county lawman convicted of racial profiling; and 2) the sheriff must resign, because he's a corrupt dickhead.
It's looney tunes crazy that people are still protesting this blowhard, who Arizona Rep. Rául Grijalva, in his introduction to Sen. Warren, called "a criminal with a badge." He is a criminal, convicted in 2013 of racial profiling in the ACLU's Melendres v. Arpaio case, and found guilty of contempt of court this summer. By all rights he should be bounced from office, if not into the pokey, for twenty-plus years of this ****.
Another big DOJ trial begins in August, and it will cover territory way beyond Melendres, which focused on racial profiling. In addition to that charge, United States v. Maricopa County will look at abuse of powers broadly, and with Sheriff Joe Arpaio that's a lengthy menu of corruption that includes kick-backs, retaliation and harassment, frivolous lawsuits, campaign finance shenanigans, inmate torture and murder.
But that's next month—right now he's gotta deal with this pesky contempt of court hearing, which is ongoing and could, I say could, land his butt in the slammer. Here's what got us here and why Arpaio's spending so much money to stop it:
After the Melendres trial, which was presided over by federal Judge Murray Snow, the court issued a long list of reforms for the sheriff's office. Among others, the judge ordered Arpaio to end his immigration "sweeps," turn over video evidence from traffic stops and install a court-appointed monitor to help implement these new (for Arpaio) less racist policies. The sheriff did almost none of this, thus the contempt charge. He no doubt bragged to his battalion of pinheads, who, if they spoke their minds would be speechless: "**** you, Feds! Up yours, Obama, you of questionable birth!"
[Ed: Sheriff Arpaio's birther investigation continues, funded by taxpayers, despite his frustration because "nobody wants to look at it right now." And I got carried away there with the sheriff's taunting.]
Arpaio admitted guilt on the contempt charge before the hearing began; ****, he even said he'd donate $100,000 to a civil rights organization to stay out of court. No deal, said the victims and Judge Snow, and the hearing's first phase began in April. The sheriff's lead attorney quit on the first day; over the next three days, when we saw a surprisingly contrite Arpaio, the hearing established that the sheriff did indeed disobey court orders—clearly contempt, which he plead to.
The next phase, which was slated to begin in June, will consider whether Sheriff Arpaio disobeyed the court willfully or incompetently. In other words, did he ignore the judge's orders out of spite and on purpose, as one of his patented "Up yours!" to the Feds, along with a wink-wink to nativists, or did his office just screw up? If Judge Snow rules that Arpaio's actions were purposeful, not just an oversight, he'll refer the case to federal trial, and if found guilty the sheriff and some top deputies could face jail time.
Although this second phase was to begin in June, here it is July and nothing's happening, and that's because Sheriff Arpaio is putting the legal brakes on. One way outta this pickle for him, one way to stop this hearing from becoming a full-blown federal trial leading to a jail cell, is to cast doubt on the integrity of the court. By undermining Judge Snow's honesty and impartiality, he's trying to delay the proceedings and maybe get the case tossed (or even nullify earlier Snow rulings).
To pull off this unabashed smear of a Republican Mormon appointed to the federal bench by George W. Bush, the sheriff's legal team, whose asses have to be jealous of the loads of **** coming out of their mouths, have orchestrated two schemes to "get" Judge Murray Snow: 1) he's crooked and 2) he's biased. Neither has worked and the hearing will continue soon, but so far Arpaio's corrupt, vindictive *******ry has cost upwards of $1 million, writes Stephen Lemons in New Times.
More about the money, the attacks and the judge's rulings over the orange twist.
#1: Judge Snow is Crooked
According to Lemons's reporting, this tactic is where Sheriff Arpaio has spent most of his money: investigating Judge Snow in order to get dirt that would disqualify him from the court proceedings—a smear campaign, funded by RICO money. Of course, claiming a political enemy is crooked is old hat for Joe Arpaio, who's smeared his share of elected officials, judges, journalists and everyday citizens who stood in his police state path.
But this current boneheaded scheme, referred to in the press as the "Seattle Operation," makes the Keystone Cops look like the "Mission: Impossible" team. The short version goes: Arpaio's office was contacted by Dennis Montgomery, a computer geek and wannabe private eye in Seattle, with news of a criminal plot involving Judge Murray Snow. Enter Arpaio, stage right, salivating.
Dennis Montgomery is no stranger to the sheriff or the Feds, as he's also mixed up in Arpaio's birther nonsense. What's more revealing of this slimeball is that since the invasion of Iraq he's conned the US government out of more than $20 million, claiming his software can find hidden terrorist codes in Al Jazerra broadcasts. Pure, unadulterated poppycock, concluded the New York Times.
So the fraudster Montgomery told Sheriff Arpaio that he discovered CIA evidence proving Judge Snow was part of an illegal conspiracy that included at least three other men who had rocky relationships with the sheriff: Attorney General Eric Holder, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and US Attorney Dennis Burke (all now gone from those offices). The team's objective: spy on and collect blackmail-worthy dirt on Sheriff Arpaio in order to force him from office. Montgomery accused the group of wire-tapping the sheriff's phones and "penetrating" his office's email accounts. It was bull, like most of what comes out of his mouth, and even though Montgomery had a reputation for scamming people and entire countries, Arpaio sent lots of men and money to Seattle to aid the investigation of this crackpot story.
However, after months of "research," after Arpaio's office sent Montgomery mountains of computer gear and at least $120,000 in cash, after the Seattle sleuth sent Arpaio dozens of print-outs and hard drives containing "proof" (but really nothing), after all this the sheriff is spit-raving mad at Montgomery and his attorney Larry Klayman (yes, the World Nut Daily screwball), because all he got was "junk." Arpaio is out perhaps a million dollars, holding nothing but his dick.
This isn't a secret. Stephen Lemons, who's been about a year out-front of the MSM on this boondoggle of a tale, revealed the Dennis Montgomery kerfuffle in June 2014. Judge Snow read that article and brought it up during the first phase of the contempt hearing—asking Arpaio why he was spending time and resources sleuthing in the Northwest instead of implementing court orders at home. He also directed the sheriff to turn over all documents related to the bogus conspiracy theory.
That's significant because the DOJ, whose trial begins August 10, would like to look at those records in light of their abuse of powers investigation. From where I sit, an attack on a federal judge easily meets or exceeds the legal standard for abuse of powers. Neither Arpaio's nor Montgomery's attorneys wanted the files made available to DOJ, but this week Judge Snow said the Feds could review all records from the "Seattle Operation."
#2: Judge Snow is Biased
After phase one of the contempt hearing, Arpaio's attorneys filed a motion to remove Judge Snow from the case because, they said, he is biased against the sheriff. This charge also begins with a tip that Arpaio's people believed and pursued, instead of, say, investigating real crime. And like the Montgomery tease, this tip did not pan out.
The background: In 2012, Karen Grissom, a friend of Judge Snow's wife Cheri, overheard Mrs. Snow at a local restaurant say that she and her husband "would do anything" to remove Sheriff Arpaio from office. A year later, when Arpaio was on the hot seat because of mounting hearings and investigations, Karen Grissom, who is sympathetic to the sheriff, decided to let him know about Cheri Snow's comment, and posted her story on Arpaio's Facebook page. Again, his team lurched into action!
Most mind-boggingly, the sheriff's lawyer at the time, Tim Casey, hired a detective to investigate Judge Snow's wife! This invasive and highly inappropriate act was undertaken "with Sheriff Arpaio's express direction and with his authorization," and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery authorized the hire. Bozos! Similar to the Seattle saga, after all of the investigations and interviews and snooping around Cheri Snow, there was no there there. Attorney Casey said the informant's story was "fundamentally flawed":
Casey believed the allegations against Snow's wife "lacked substance or merit," according to a 2013 Casey letter to Arpaio recently made public.
Again, New Times reported early on about the investigation of Cheri Snow, another article her husband read. On the last day of April's contempt hearing, Judge Snow himself asked Sheriff Arpaio if he had had the judge's wife investigated. When Arpaio admitted that he had, the courtroom was stunned, a collective gasp, and the TV machines went bonkers that evening with the bombshell revelation. SHERIFF ARPAIO HIRES PRIVATE DETECTIVE TO INVESTIGATE THE WIFE OF THE JUDGE PRESIDING OVER HIS TRIAL!!
While the investigation of the judge's wife produced nada, Arpaio turned the soap opera finale into another legal barb, which might have been his objective all along—not to find anything on Cheri Snow but to insert himself in the relationship and, in effect, choreograph the judge's "bias." After the hearing's first phase ended, then, his lawyers filed the motion to remove the judge. Given Judge Snow's obvious prejudice against the sheriff for investigating his wife, they argued, he should step down.
Judge Snow has been nothing if not fair, and all of his rulings have been upheld on appeal. He granted a stay, which is why the second phase did not get underway in June, so he could consider the motion. About ten days ago, then, in a 40-page ruling, Judge Snow said he will not recuse himself and the hearing will resume, probably in September.
Sheriff Arpaio has spent perhaps $1 million to smear a federal judge. None of his allegations have been upheld, and now everyone knows what he's been up to, just as a federal trial on abuse of powers gets underway.
•••
On Friday, Sheriff Arpaio thanked the marchers from Netroots for being peaceful, but said he wasn't stepping down because he's just upholding the Constitution. We could agree with him but then we'd all be wrong.
Hopefully, there will be some jail time and he will be forced to pay back all the money he has cost Arizona taxpayers.
Sheriff Arpaio spends up to $1 million to smear judge, fails miserably
Living in central Phoenix, I went to some of Netroots last week. After Sen. Elizabeth Warren's barn-burner on Friday, about 300 people, led by Puente Arizona, marched to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jail (one-minute video of the protest above). It was only 100 that day, a cool wave. Nearby, a couple thousand inmates were living in tents, where it can reach 135+.
In addition to exposing and condemning the sheriff's criminal practices, marchers had two demands: 1) that Immigration and Customs Enforcement be removed from his office, because immigration is a federal responsibility, not his—a county lawman convicted of racial profiling; and 2) the sheriff must resign, because he's a corrupt dickhead.
It's looney tunes crazy that people are still protesting this blowhard, who Arizona Rep. Rául Grijalva, in his introduction to Sen. Warren, called "a criminal with a badge." He is a criminal, convicted in 2013 of racial profiling in the ACLU's Melendres v. Arpaio case, and found guilty of contempt of court this summer. By all rights he should be bounced from office, if not into the pokey, for twenty-plus years of this ****.
Another big DOJ trial begins in August, and it will cover territory way beyond Melendres, which focused on racial profiling. In addition to that charge, United States v. Maricopa County will look at abuse of powers broadly, and with Sheriff Joe Arpaio that's a lengthy menu of corruption that includes kick-backs, retaliation and harassment, frivolous lawsuits, campaign finance shenanigans, inmate torture and murder.
But that's next month—right now he's gotta deal with this pesky contempt of court hearing, which is ongoing and could, I say could, land his butt in the slammer. Here's what got us here and why Arpaio's spending so much money to stop it:
After the Melendres trial, which was presided over by federal Judge Murray Snow, the court issued a long list of reforms for the sheriff's office. Among others, the judge ordered Arpaio to end his immigration "sweeps," turn over video evidence from traffic stops and install a court-appointed monitor to help implement these new (for Arpaio) less racist policies. The sheriff did almost none of this, thus the contempt charge. He no doubt bragged to his battalion of pinheads, who, if they spoke their minds would be speechless: "**** you, Feds! Up yours, Obama, you of questionable birth!"
[Ed: Sheriff Arpaio's birther investigation continues, funded by taxpayers, despite his frustration because "nobody wants to look at it right now." And I got carried away there with the sheriff's taunting.]
Arpaio admitted guilt on the contempt charge before the hearing began; ****, he even said he'd donate $100,000 to a civil rights organization to stay out of court. No deal, said the victims and Judge Snow, and the hearing's first phase began in April. The sheriff's lead attorney quit on the first day; over the next three days, when we saw a surprisingly contrite Arpaio, the hearing established that the sheriff did indeed disobey court orders—clearly contempt, which he plead to.
The next phase, which was slated to begin in June, will consider whether Sheriff Arpaio disobeyed the court willfully or incompetently. In other words, did he ignore the judge's orders out of spite and on purpose, as one of his patented "Up yours!" to the Feds, along with a wink-wink to nativists, or did his office just screw up? If Judge Snow rules that Arpaio's actions were purposeful, not just an oversight, he'll refer the case to federal trial, and if found guilty the sheriff and some top deputies could face jail time.
Although this second phase was to begin in June, here it is July and nothing's happening, and that's because Sheriff Arpaio is putting the legal brakes on. One way outta this pickle for him, one way to stop this hearing from becoming a full-blown federal trial leading to a jail cell, is to cast doubt on the integrity of the court. By undermining Judge Snow's honesty and impartiality, he's trying to delay the proceedings and maybe get the case tossed (or even nullify earlier Snow rulings).
To pull off this unabashed smear of a Republican Mormon appointed to the federal bench by George W. Bush, the sheriff's legal team, whose asses have to be jealous of the loads of **** coming out of their mouths, have orchestrated two schemes to "get" Judge Murray Snow: 1) he's crooked and 2) he's biased. Neither has worked and the hearing will continue soon, but so far Arpaio's corrupt, vindictive *******ry has cost upwards of $1 million, writes Stephen Lemons in New Times.
More about the money, the attacks and the judge's rulings over the orange twist.
#1: Judge Snow is Crooked
According to Lemons's reporting, this tactic is where Sheriff Arpaio has spent most of his money: investigating Judge Snow in order to get dirt that would disqualify him from the court proceedings—a smear campaign, funded by RICO money. Of course, claiming a political enemy is crooked is old hat for Joe Arpaio, who's smeared his share of elected officials, judges, journalists and everyday citizens who stood in his police state path.
But this current boneheaded scheme, referred to in the press as the "Seattle Operation," makes the Keystone Cops look like the "Mission: Impossible" team. The short version goes: Arpaio's office was contacted by Dennis Montgomery, a computer geek and wannabe private eye in Seattle, with news of a criminal plot involving Judge Murray Snow. Enter Arpaio, stage right, salivating.
Dennis Montgomery is no stranger to the sheriff or the Feds, as he's also mixed up in Arpaio's birther nonsense. What's more revealing of this slimeball is that since the invasion of Iraq he's conned the US government out of more than $20 million, claiming his software can find hidden terrorist codes in Al Jazerra broadcasts. Pure, unadulterated poppycock, concluded the New York Times.
So the fraudster Montgomery told Sheriff Arpaio that he discovered CIA evidence proving Judge Snow was part of an illegal conspiracy that included at least three other men who had rocky relationships with the sheriff: Attorney General Eric Holder, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and US Attorney Dennis Burke (all now gone from those offices). The team's objective: spy on and collect blackmail-worthy dirt on Sheriff Arpaio in order to force him from office. Montgomery accused the group of wire-tapping the sheriff's phones and "penetrating" his office's email accounts. It was bull, like most of what comes out of his mouth, and even though Montgomery had a reputation for scamming people and entire countries, Arpaio sent lots of men and money to Seattle to aid the investigation of this crackpot story.
However, after months of "research," after Arpaio's office sent Montgomery mountains of computer gear and at least $120,000 in cash, after the Seattle sleuth sent Arpaio dozens of print-outs and hard drives containing "proof" (but really nothing), after all this the sheriff is spit-raving mad at Montgomery and his attorney Larry Klayman (yes, the World Nut Daily screwball), because all he got was "junk." Arpaio is out perhaps a million dollars, holding nothing but his dick.
This isn't a secret. Stephen Lemons, who's been about a year out-front of the MSM on this boondoggle of a tale, revealed the Dennis Montgomery kerfuffle in June 2014. Judge Snow read that article and brought it up during the first phase of the contempt hearing—asking Arpaio why he was spending time and resources sleuthing in the Northwest instead of implementing court orders at home. He also directed the sheriff to turn over all documents related to the bogus conspiracy theory.
That's significant because the DOJ, whose trial begins August 10, would like to look at those records in light of their abuse of powers investigation. From where I sit, an attack on a federal judge easily meets or exceeds the legal standard for abuse of powers. Neither Arpaio's nor Montgomery's attorneys wanted the files made available to DOJ, but this week Judge Snow said the Feds could review all records from the "Seattle Operation."
#2: Judge Snow is Biased
After phase one of the contempt hearing, Arpaio's attorneys filed a motion to remove Judge Snow from the case because, they said, he is biased against the sheriff. This charge also begins with a tip that Arpaio's people believed and pursued, instead of, say, investigating real crime. And like the Montgomery tease, this tip did not pan out.
The background: In 2012, Karen Grissom, a friend of Judge Snow's wife Cheri, overheard Mrs. Snow at a local restaurant say that she and her husband "would do anything" to remove Sheriff Arpaio from office. A year later, when Arpaio was on the hot seat because of mounting hearings and investigations, Karen Grissom, who is sympathetic to the sheriff, decided to let him know about Cheri Snow's comment, and posted her story on Arpaio's Facebook page. Again, his team lurched into action!
Most mind-boggingly, the sheriff's lawyer at the time, Tim Casey, hired a detective to investigate Judge Snow's wife! This invasive and highly inappropriate act was undertaken "with Sheriff Arpaio's express direction and with his authorization," and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery authorized the hire. Bozos! Similar to the Seattle saga, after all of the investigations and interviews and snooping around Cheri Snow, there was no there there. Attorney Casey said the informant's story was "fundamentally flawed":
Casey believed the allegations against Snow's wife "lacked substance or merit," according to a 2013 Casey letter to Arpaio recently made public.
Again, New Times reported early on about the investigation of Cheri Snow, another article her husband read. On the last day of April's contempt hearing, Judge Snow himself asked Sheriff Arpaio if he had had the judge's wife investigated. When Arpaio admitted that he had, the courtroom was stunned, a collective gasp, and the TV machines went bonkers that evening with the bombshell revelation. SHERIFF ARPAIO HIRES PRIVATE DETECTIVE TO INVESTIGATE THE WIFE OF THE JUDGE PRESIDING OVER HIS TRIAL!!
While the investigation of the judge's wife produced nada, Arpaio turned the soap opera finale into another legal barb, which might have been his objective all along—not to find anything on Cheri Snow but to insert himself in the relationship and, in effect, choreograph the judge's "bias." After the hearing's first phase ended, then, his lawyers filed the motion to remove the judge. Given Judge Snow's obvious prejudice against the sheriff for investigating his wife, they argued, he should step down.
Judge Snow has been nothing if not fair, and all of his rulings have been upheld on appeal. He granted a stay, which is why the second phase did not get underway in June, so he could consider the motion. About ten days ago, then, in a 40-page ruling, Judge Snow said he will not recuse himself and the hearing will resume, probably in September.
Sheriff Arpaio has spent perhaps $1 million to smear a federal judge. None of his allegations have been upheld, and now everyone knows what he's been up to, just as a federal trial on abuse of powers gets underway.
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On Friday, Sheriff Arpaio thanked the marchers from Netroots for being peaceful, but said he wasn't stepping down because he's just upholding the Constitution. We could agree with him but then we'd all be wrong.
Hopefully, there will be some jail time and he will be forced to pay back all the money he has cost Arizona taxpayers.