President Donald Trump announced Monday that he was pardoning a Virginia sheriff sentenced to 10 years in prison on bribery charges, saying the Biden administration had politically targeted the former law enforcement officer.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said he was issuing a full pardon to former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins, who was convicted in December 2024 on charges that he handed out auxiliary deputy positions for money. Jenkins, who was set to report to prison on Tuesday, disputed the accusation and conviction, saying the prosecution was motivated by his conservative views.
“Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ. In fact, during his trial, when Sheriff Jenkins tried to offer exculpatory evidence to support himself, the Biden Judge, Robert Ballou, refused to allow it, shut him down, and then went on a tirade,” Trump wrote. “As we have seen, in Federal, City, and State Courts, Radical Left or Liberal Judges allow into evidence what they feel like, not what is mandated under the Constitution and Rules of Evidence.”
“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.’ 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,” Trump added.
Jenkins first made national headlines back in 2019 when he promised to deputize thousands of Culpeper residents if the Democrat-controlled Virginia legislature moved forward with strict gun control measures.
“Every Sheriff and Commonwealth Attorney in Virginia will see the consequences if our General Assembly passes further unnecessary gun restrictions,” Jenkins wrote on Facebook at the time. “I plan to properly screen and deputize thousands of our law-abiding citizens to protect their constitutional right to own firearms.”
He also later participated in a phone call with other sheriffs discussing potential charges against Hunter Biden based on revelations from the laptop showing his drug use and questionable business dealings.
After that call, Jenkins was wrapped up in a sting operation where federal prosecutors said that he accepted cash bribes in the form of campaign contributions, including from two undercover FBI agents, in exchange for becoming auxiliary deputy sheriffs.
In December 2024, Jenkins was convicted by a jury that found he took $75,000 in campaign donations in exchange for handing out auxiliary deputy badges. According to the Justice Department, those who bribed Jenkins were not trained or vetted and did not do legitimate law enforcement work. He was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison.
“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,” Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Zachary Lee said at the time. “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.”
After the trial, Jenkins maintained his innocence and said that he wasn’t given the opportunity to give his side of the story.
“I truly believe if I could get an hour of time with someone in the administration and lay out some facts with my attorney and I really believe if they could hear the other side which I couldn’t get in front of the jury – I believe whole heartedly in the president,” he said during a video call. “I believe if he heard the information, I know he would help if he knew my story.”
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[[{“value”:”
President Donald Trump announced Monday that he was pardoning a Virginia sheriff sentenced to 10 years in prison on bribery charges, saying the Biden administration had politically targeted the former law enforcement officer.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said he was issuing a full pardon to former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins, who was convicted in December 2024 on charges that he handed out auxiliary deputy positions for money. Jenkins, who was set to report to prison on Tuesday, disputed the accusation and conviction, saying the prosecution was motivated by his conservative views.
“Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ. In fact, during his trial, when Sheriff Jenkins tried to offer exculpatory evidence to support himself, the Biden Judge, Robert Ballou, refused to allow it, shut him down, and then went on a tirade,” Trump wrote. “As we have seen, in Federal, City, and State Courts, Radical Left or Liberal Judges allow into evidence what they feel like, not what is mandated under the Constitution and Rules of Evidence.”
“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.’ 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,” Trump added.
Jenkins first made national headlines back in 2019 when he promised to deputize thousands of Culpeper residents if the Democrat-controlled Virginia legislature moved forward with strict gun control measures.
“Every Sheriff and Commonwealth Attorney in Virginia will see the consequences if our General Assembly passes further unnecessary gun restrictions,” Jenkins wrote on Facebook at the time. “I plan to properly screen and deputize thousands of our law-abiding citizens to protect their constitutional right to own firearms.”
He also later participated in a phone call with other sheriffs discussing potential charges against Hunter Biden based on revelations from the laptop showing his drug use and questionable business dealings.
After that call, Jenkins was wrapped up in a sting operation where federal prosecutors said that he accepted cash bribes in the form of campaign contributions, including from two undercover FBI agents, in exchange for becoming auxiliary deputy sheriffs.
In December 2024, Jenkins was convicted by a jury that found he took $75,000 in campaign donations in exchange for handing out auxiliary deputy badges. According to the Justice Department, those who bribed Jenkins were not trained or vetted and did not do legitimate law enforcement work. He was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison.
“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,” Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Zachary Lee said at the time. “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.”
After the trial, Jenkins maintained his innocence and said that he wasn’t given the opportunity to give his side of the story.
“I truly believe if I could get an hour of time with someone in the administration and lay out some facts with my attorney and I really believe if they could hear the other side which I couldn’t get in front of the jury – I believe whole heartedly in the president,” he said during a video call. “I believe if he heard the information, I know he would help if he knew my story.”
“}]]
