White House officials said President Donald Trump took extra steps when pardoning controversial former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, specifically cutting out the a key Justice Department division from the process.
The White House announced President Trump’s pardon of Arpaio Friday night which set off a firestorm among Democrats and the mainstream media. That reason is specifically why President Trump took an unorthodox route when finalizing the pardon, a White House aide told True Pundit.
Specifically, President Trump did not seek a review of the pardon from the Justice Department and thereby bypassed the Office of the Pardon Attorney which falls under the DOJ umbrella and normally handles such cases. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is believed to have approved and recommended President Trump sidestepping the pardons office to maintain confidentiality, the source said.
The White House source said Trump wanted to avoid leaks of the pardon and therefore chose to take a new route for Arpaio, dealing instead with the White House Counsel’s office. Other sources said President Trump does not trust many of the Obama holdovers in the Justice Department which was another motivating factor behind the schematics of the Arpaio pardon.
It appears Sessions doesn’t trust these Obama appointees and hires either.
Remember Sally Yates? And Andrew McCabe?
White House folks say Trump kept Arpaio pardon quiet, avoided DOJ contact & knowledge as to not leak, because he feels DOJ has many key rats
— Thomas Paine (@Thomas1774Paine) August 26, 2017