**Trump Grants Unconditional Pardon to Former Virginia Sheriff Convicted of Fraud and Bribery**

Donald Trump revealed on Monday that he has given a full pardon to Scott Jenkins, a former sheriff from Virginia, who had been found guilty of federal fraud and bribery charges. Jenkins, 53, served as the sheriff of Culpeper County for 12 years, beginning his tenure in 2011 and winning re-elections twice.

In 2024, a jury convicted Jenkins of accepting over $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointing several Northern Virginia businessmen as auxiliary deputy sheriffs in his office. His convictions included one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services fraud, and seven counts of bribery related to programs receiving federal funds. By March 2025, he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

Prosecutors detailed that Jenkins accepted bribes from at least eight individuals, including two undercover FBI agents. The bribes took the form of cash and campaign contributions. In return, Jenkins issued official badges and credentials, offering the recipients privileges such as evading traffic tickets and carrying concealed firearms without permits.

Three individuals—Rick Rahim, Fredric Gumbinner, and James Metcalf—pleaded guilty to their secondary roles in the bribery scheme, with prosecutors noting their involvement in providing bribes to Jenkins.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump defended Jenkins, describing him as a "victim of an overzealous" Justice Department during the Biden administration. The former president argued that Jenkins "doesn’t deserve to spend a single day in jail" and criticized the judge overseeing the case for allegedly preventing Jenkins from presenting evidence in his defense.

Following his conviction, Jenkins appealed directly to the Trump administration for clemency. His pardon marks one of several controversial pardons issued by Trump since the beginning of his second term in office. On his first day back as president, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of approximately 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress.

Additionally, Trump has granted pardons to high-profile figures such as Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road illegal online drug market, and Rod Blagojevich, a former Democratic Illinois governor convicted of federal corruption charges. In March, Trump also pardoned three co-founders of the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, who had pleaded guilty in 2022 to breaking the Bank Secrecy Act.