Joe Arpaio launches fundraising campaign for legal defense funds

PHOENIX — Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has launched an email campaign to raise money for his legal funds, the Phoenix Business Journal reported.

The email, which was sent out Friday from the Scottsdale-based Sheriff Joe Legal Defense Fund, asked supporters to fund Arpaio’s “costly, contentious legal battle” and donate as “little as $15” to go directly toward his legal funds.

“Frankly, there is simply no way I will be able to afford the type of legal defense I need to ensure that I am not bulldozed over in court on only the salary of a retired public servant,” the email read.

Arpaio raised more than $12 million for his re-election bid.

Arpaio and three of his deputies were found in civil comtempt in a racial profiling case that continued for years in May 2016. In December, Arpaio asked an appeals court to overturn the ruling and do away with the punishments.

U.S. District Judge Murray Snow, the judge who found Arpaio in contempt, has also recommended a criminal contempt charge against the former sheriff.

The years-long case has cost taxpayers at least $50 million and is believed to have contributed to Arpaio’s defeat in the November election, when he was unseated from his 24-year term as sheriff by Paul Penzone.

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