Arpaio: ‘I was never in contempt of court, I was just doing my job’

PHOENIX — Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio reiterated Thursday that he was an innocent man, a day after a federal judge accepted President Donald Trump’s pardon of the former lawman.

“I was never in contempt of court,” he said. “I was just doing my job.”

Arpaio said he was glad the court accepted the presidential pardon that was issued nearly two months ago. There was a slim chance Judge Susan Bolton would rule it invalid, though experts said that was unlikely.

For Arpaio, Wednesday’s decision meant it was time to move along with his career, though he nearly called it quits.

“I told my wife ‘I’m finished’ after what I had to go through … I was a little discouraged, I said, ‘I’m done,'” he said. “But a few months ago, I decided to not be done. I have an office. I have a lot of future ideas on my agenda.”

One of the things on Arpaio’s list is to continue to give talks around the country. He had already spoken in Las Vegas and Fresno, California.

While in the latter, he said Thursday he planned to continue his investigation into former President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.

Arpaio said another motivating factor for him to remain in the public eye is what he felt was unfair treatment of the president by the media.

Arpaio has since vowed to remain active politically without saying whether he’ll run for office again.

“We’ll see what happens as time progresses.”

KTAR News’ Kathy Cline contributed to this report.

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