Camilla Jessen
Scott Jenkins receives a full pardon from Donald Trump.
U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a full pardon to Scott Jenkins, a former sheriff from Virginia convicted last year on federal bribery charges, according to a statement published on Monday. This was reported by Digi24.
Jenkins was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison after being found guilty in December 2024 of accepting more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointing individuals as deputy sheriffs.
Prosecutors said the individuals who made the payments were given law enforcement credentials despite not being trained or performing any official duties.
“Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife, Patricia, and their family have been dragged into hell,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, announcing the pardon. “He won’t go to jail tomorrow, but instead he will have a wonderful and fruitful life.”
The Justice Department said at the time of the sentencing that Jenkins accepted the bribes in the form of campaign donations and issued badges and other credentials in return.
The department said the scheme undermined public trust and posed a risk to public safety.
Jenkins, who served as sheriff in Culpeper County, Virginia — about 75 miles (120 km) southwest of Washington, D.C. — had appealed for clemency directly to Trump following his conviction. In April, he told a webinar hosted by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association that he believed the former president would intervene in his case.
“I believe in the president with all my heart,” Jenkins said during the event, according to local media.
A Pattern of Controversial Pardons
Trump, who returned to office in January, has issued a series of high-profile pardons in recent months.
In January, he pardoned numerous individuals convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In February, he granted clemency to former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was serving a sentence for corruption charges, including attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by then-President Barack Obama.
In Monday’s statement, Trump criticized the prosecution of Jenkins, calling it politically motivated:
He was the victim of an overzealous Biden Justice Department.
The White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment.