So, on Friday Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and a handful of his flunkies concluded a 20-day contempt of court hearing before US District Court Judge Murray Snow. It’s been a fun ride and it ain’t over by any stretch. The hearing, which began in April, set out to determine whether the sheriff’s violation of court orders was willful or just bad administration. If it’s determined that the sheriff willfully ignored Judge Snow’s orders following Arpaio’s 2013 Melendres conviction, then the case will be referred to a criminal trial, which could land the bigoted butthead in the pokey.
Immediately after Melendres, the ACLU case that found Arpaio’s office guilty of racial profiling, Judge Snow ordered the sheriff to stop immigration patrols, turn over video evidence from traffic stops, and install a court-appointed monitor to oversee progress. Arpaio did almost none of this, and in fact the arrogant blowhard bragged to the press that he wouldn’t. After more than a year of defiance, a frustrated Judge Snow ordered Arpaio and several deputies to appear before him, to explain why they should not be held in contempt of court.
Joe Arpaio and his attorneys knew he didn’t have a legal leg to stand on. His lead attorney quit on the first day of the hearing, former deputies turned on Arpaio, the sheriff immediately pled guilty to contempt, and he volunteered to donate $100,000 to a civil rights organization, hoping to delay or head off a hearing—a strategy that didn’t work, the hearing continued.
In Arpaio’s version of the contempt charge, he didn’t knowingly disobey the court orders; no, his office simply screwed up. No one told him about the orders! Somebody else was supposed to do it! Well, that’s been shown to be a pile of bullshit, as Arpaio was warned about the court orders early and often by lawyers and deputies. But it turns out that might not be the Big Lie in which Arpaio has cornered himself, according to Judge Snow.
"I am more concerned with Sheriff Arpaio's willingness to tell the truth while he is on the stand," said Snow, who went on to suggest that Arpaio may have perjured himself during the trial.
The main point of contention, which wasn’t even part of the original hearing, turned out to be whether Sheriff Arpaio was investigating Judge Snow in order to get dirt on him that might force the judge to recuse himself from the case. This so-called“Seattle Operation” reads like a “Get Smart” episode.
Short version: Arpaio was contacted by a known con artist in Seattle named Dennis Montgomery, who earlier had bilked the government of millions by fraudulently claiming he could decipher secret messages in Al Jazeera broadcasts. A computer guru, Montgomery told the sheriff he had evidence that Judge Snow was part of a conspiracy to bring down Arpaio. Supposedly, the plot also included AG Eric Holder, former Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, and other Arpaio enemies. Arpaio couldn’t resist. The Sheriff’s Office sent deputies to Seattle to work with Montgomery, and they paid him $100,000 to $250,000 to turn over evidence that Arpaio’s team later called “junk.” There was no plot; it was just another scam, this one playing on the sheriff’s paranoia.
But it was Arpaio’s willingness to enter into the deal, and then lie about it on the stand, that has Judge Snow in a tizzy. It also doesn’t help the sheriff’s case that Judge Snow’s wife was caught up in this bizarre investigation as well.
Arpaio now says he hired Montgomery, not to uncover a conspiracy, but because the Seattle goofball said he had hard drives containing the names of thousands of Arizonans whose identities had been compromised. The sheriff was just doing his job, protecting citizens! But Judge Snow and prosecutors argue that Arpaio undertook the investigation because Montgomery promised dirt on Judge Snow, whose name was among the computer files. It would not be the first time Sheriff Arpaio harassed a judge; county taxpayers had to fork over $1.27 million that former Judge Gary Donahoe received in a settlement after the Sheriff’s Office illegally investigated him.
What’s made Arpaio’s version questionable at best was the discovery of faxed document, a timeline of the Seattle job that includes Arpaio’s handwritten notes, suggesting that the investigation was foremost about smearing Judge Snow. During the last day of the hearing yesterday it was Snow himself who questioned the sheriff’s word.
In perhaps the most dramatic moment of the day, Snow grilled Arpaio’s defense attorney on why he shouldn’t believe the county’s longest-serving sheriff lied while under oath.
Now we wait. But if I were Arpaio’s attorney, I’d be prepping him for a criminal trial. And sizing him up for pink underwear.