U.S. President Donald Trump has pardoned a Virginia sheriff who was due to report to jail after he was convicted of bribery.
Former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Howard Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison in March for accepting more than $75,000 in bribes.
Jenkins, 53, accepted the bribes in exchange for appointing numerous Northern Virginia businessmen as auxiliary deputy sheriffs within his department, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Highlights
- President Trump pardoned former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins, convicted of accepting over $75,000 in bribes for law enforcement badges.
- Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years for the cash-for-badges scheme but avoided jail after Trump’s full and unconditional pardon.
- Trump claimed Jenkins was a victim of a 'weaponized' Biden DOJ and that exculpatory evidence was unfairly excluded at his trial.
- Jenkins gave auxiliary deputy sheriff badges to untrained businessmen who paid bribes, violating his oath and public trust.
- This pardon adds to Trump’s history of granting clemency to convicted felons, including figures tied to campaign fraud and the Silk Road.
Scott Jenkins was due to report to jail to serve a 10-year sentence for accepting bribes
Image credits: The White House
He was convicted of one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services fraud, and seven counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds in December 2024.
Jenkins was due to report to jail on Tuesday, May 27, but Trump stepped in and handed him a full and unconditional pardon.
Trump claimed Jenkins had been a victim of the “weaponized Biden DOJ” and that he was not allowed to present evidence on his behalf during the trial.
“Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“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.
“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.”
Trump continued: “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.”
Image credits: realDonaldTrump
Court records and trial evidence show that Jenkins took bribes—both in cash and as campaign donations—from co-defendants Rick Rahim, Fredric Gumbinner, and James Metcalf.
Jenkins also took bribes from at least five others, including two undercover FBI agents, the DOJ said. Rahim, Gumbinner, and Metcalf all pleaded guilty to their roles.
In exchange for the bribes, Jenkins gave each of them the title of auxiliary deputy sheriff.
This role came with real law enforcement badges and ID from the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office, even though none of them were trained, approved, or performed any legitimate duties.
Jenkins also tried to convince other officials to support a court petition from Rahim, a convicted felon, to restore his gun rights.
Trump has issued several pardons since he took office
The petition falsely claimed Rahim lived in Culpeper County.
“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 U.S. Attorney Zachary Lee said after Jenkins’ sentencing.
“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. I am grateful to the FBI for their tireless work on this investigation.”
Image credits: The White House
This is not the first time Trump has pardoned a convicted felon; he also pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road marketplace on the dark web.
Ulbricht was serving a life sentence for charges related to operating the Silk Road, which facilitated the sale of narcotics and other illegal products.
On January 21, Trump granted him a full and unconditional pardon.
In March, Trump also pardoned former Tennessee state senator Brian Kelsey, who had pleaded guilty to federal charges relating to an illegal campaign finance scheme during his 2016 congressional run.
His pardon wiped away a conviction that carried potential prison time.
Michele Fiore, a former Nevada politician who had been convicted of wire fraud, was pardoned by Trump in April.
Fiore was found guilty of misusing $70,000 in public funds that were meant for a memorial to fallen police officers. Her pardon came before she was formally sentenced.
Trump has also pardoned several people convicted of taking part in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.