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Arpaio's initial decision not to cooperate with this investigation has led the Sheriff's Office and the Justice Department into uncharted territory.

But Arpaio has changed course in recent weeks, implying that his office is trying to cooperate with federal civil-rights investigators.

"Can't they wait another week?" Arpaio asked. "Why can't they give us a little more time."

"I thought we were really close to getting this thing resolved.
[...]
The sheriff's failure to cooperate could cost the county millions of dollars of federal funding. Last year, the county received $113 million in federal funds, according to county records; of that, the Sheriff's Office received $3.8 million. County officials must agree that they will not discriminate in order to receive those funds.

Arpaio believes the inquiry is focused on his immigration sweeps, patrols where deputies flood an area of a city — in some cases heavily Latino areas — to seek out traffic violators and arrest other offenders.

Critics say his deputies pull people over for minor traffic infractions because of the color of their skin so they can ask them for their proof of citizenship.

Arpaio denies allegations of racial profiling, saying people are stopped if deputies have probable cause to believe they've committed crimes and that it's only afterward that deputies find many of them are illegal immigrants.

The sheriff's office has said half of the 1,032 people arrested in the sweeps have been illegal immigrants.

Last year, the federal government stripped Arpaio of his special power to enforce federal immigration law. The sheriff continued his sweeps through the enforcement of state immigration laws.

The DoJ suit speaks loudly by what it does not say. It does not allege that Sheriff Arpaio or the MCSO have discriminated against anyone because the DoJ, after 18 months of soliciting allegations against Sheriff Arpaio, has come up empty. Even the purported basis for the suit, which alleges a lack of "cooperation," is a sham. In fact, after meeting with the DoJ last week, just last Friday, on behalf of MCSO, I informed the DoJ that MCSO would cooperate with all reasonable document requests and would schedule tours of MCSO facilities and interviews with senior MCSO command staff. We were awaiting a response from DoJ, and this lawsuit is apparently it.

The Annoyed Man wrote:From the Sheriff's Office: http://www.mcso.org/include/pr_pdf/Obama%20Lawsuit.pdf

This public domain document says:

The DoJ suit speaks loudly by what it does not say. It does not allege that Sheriff Arpaio or the MCSO have discriminated against anyone because the DoJ, after 18 months of soliciting allegations against Sheriff Arpaio, has come up empty. Even the purported basis for the suit, which alleges a lack of "cooperation," is a sham. In fact, after meeting with the DoJ last week, just last Friday, on behalf of MCSO, I informed the DoJ that MCSO would cooperate with all reasonable document requests and would schedule tours of MCSO facilities and interviews with senior MCSO command staff. We were awaiting a response from DoJ, and this lawsuit is apparently it.

This administration has never been about transparency, or about doing what is right. And they certainly have no problem bringing the entire weight of the federal government to bear against a single individual - particularly when that individual convicts them in the public awareness of failing to do their job.

This is gangsta government at its finest.

The Annoyed Man wrote:This is gangsta government at its finest.

Oldgringo wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:From the Sheriff's Office: http://www.mcso.org/include/pr_pdf/Obama%20Lawsuit.pdf

This public domain document says:

The DoJ suit speaks loudly by what it does not say. It does not allege that Sheriff Arpaio or the MCSO have discriminated against anyone because the DoJ, after 18 months of soliciting allegations against Sheriff Arpaio, has come up empty. Even the purported basis for the suit, which alleges a lack of "cooperation," is a sham. In fact, after meeting with the DoJ last week, just last Friday, on behalf of MCSO, I informed the DoJ that MCSO would cooperate with all reasonable document requests and would schedule tours of MCSO facilities and interviews with senior MCSO command staff. We were awaiting a response from DoJ, and this lawsuit is apparently it.

This administration has never been about transparency, or about doing what is right. And they certainly have no problem bringing the entire weight of the federal government to bear against a single individual - particularly when that individual convicts them in the public awareness of failing to do their job.

This is gangsta government at its finest.

In my heart of hearts, I believe that you are absolutely correct.