Fresh from last summer's SB 1070 marches and demonstrations in Arizona, during which Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio kept busy arresting innocent protestors, the past year has been even more eventful for the part-time law official and full-time media hound. Last August Arpaio's former Deputy Chief Frank Munnell released a scathing 63-page report in which he described a Sheriff's Department rife with corruption, cronyism, financial mismanagement, and vengeance -- everything from illegal campaign schemes to kickbacks to false arrests.
The upshot of that memo came earlier this year when the Sheriff fired David Hendershott and Larry Black, two longtime friends and senior deputies. A whitewashed investigation of the Munnell memo by Arpaio's buddy Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu singled out Chief Deputy Hendershott and two others as the fall guys, allowing Sheriff Arpaio to play the part of Sergeant Schultz: "I know nothing. Nothing!" At the time many wondered how a control freak like Arpaio could not know about the schemes his chief deputies were caught up in, especially the illegal activities associated with Arpaio's re-election campaign.
In another 2010 election, Arpaio supported his former County Attorney, Andrew Thomas, for Attorney General. Thomas was the dickbrain who for five years gave Arpaio legal cover for his questionable tactics, such as immigration sweeps. Just about every candidate Arpaio endorses loses (hear that GOP candidates?), and the same held true for Thomas, who didn't even make it out of the Republican primary.
Then 2011 got a lot worse for Andrew Thomas and, by extension, for Arpaio. Thomas and two of his legal assistants are currently fighting for their careers. The former prosecutor is facing disbarment and perhaps worse over the harassments, lawsuits, and threats he and Arpaio leveled against opponents. In all, 33 ethics violations have been filed against Thomas.
The investigations were born of a task force Apraio and Thomas formed in late 2007 and targeted a host of elected and appointed officials in Maricopa County, some of whom Arpaio said he considered friends. Arizona Republic
As Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas went about building their police state, the message was clear: If you stood in their way expect retribution. The Arpaio-Thomas tag team indicted former County Supervisors Don Stapley and Rose Mary Wilcox -- even making sure the TV cameras were rolling as they arrested Stapley, handcuffed him, and perp walked him to jail. The pinheaded duo also brought charges against Judges Barbara Mundell and Gary Donahoe, in order to remove them from other lawsuits involving the Sheriff! Some of the victims have testified during the trial, now in its 6th week, and most have also filed multi-million-dollar lawsuits against Arpaio and Thomas for ruining their lives and careers. Stapley testified last month that he has "incurred more than $2 million in legal fees defending himself."
Today, Sheriff Joe Arpaio finally appeared on the stand, under oath. Stephen Lemons writes in New Times,
[H]is testimony today was at odds with his previous statements, the statements and testimony of his subordinates, and everything we know about the Arpaio-Thomas-Hendershott axis.
It would be a near miracle if the sheriff did not perjure himself today.
"I don't recall" was the most frequent response Sheriff Arpaio gave today to the three-member panel, when pressed by prosecutors about his role in the arrests and indictments of politicians, judges, and other political enemies.
But despite the high-profile nature of the investigations, which spawned a battle between county agencies and years of legal actions, Arpaio said he was largely unaware of the allegations against county officials and he struggled to recall the fine points of key meetings with prosecutors about the cases during more than two hours of testimony Tuesday at the Arizona Supreme Court. Arizona Republic
A lot of the question-and-answer concerned who ordered the arrests, with Arpaio either saying "I don't know" dozens of times or shifting the blame elsewhere. Lemons highlights the contradictions between Arpaio's testimony today and his previous statements:
"I was not micromanaging these operations," Arpaio stated at one point, in direct contradiction to press releases, public statements, and reams of documents released...
My colleague Ray Stern read thousands of these documents, pointing out in his May, 26 cover story "Joe Knew," that Arpaio was intimately involved in the witch hunts against those who dared oppose him -- sitting in on MACE meetings, according to several witnesses, and even reviewing search warrants. New Times
Elsewhere Arpaio's recollection of events did not square with Hendershott's version, which he described on the stand last week:
Hendershott testified that it was Arpaio who ordered the arrest of Stapley in 2009 for his alleged misuse of campaign funds. Arpaio on Tuesday put that decision back on Hendershott. Arizona Republic
Maybe someone should show the Sheriff a copy of the September 22, 2009 Arizona Republic, which reported the Stapley arrest and their interview with Arpaio:
Arpaio said his office had acted on its own, investigating independently and arresting Stapley because it had probable cause... Arpaio said he made the decision to make an arrest late in the week, but Stapley was out of town. Arizona Republic
my emphasis
No doubt the Feds are occupying a few seats at the trial, since they're nearly three years into a DOJ probe and grand jury investigation of Sheriff Arpaio for racial profiling and abuse of powers.
Maybe they should add perjury to the list. And get on with it already!