Trump adviser defends Arpaio pardon as 'pretty straightforward'

White House Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert defended President Donald Trump's controversial pardon of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio as "pretty straightforward."

"I think it's pretty straightforward what the president did. I think there's some disproportionate coverage of it right now," Bossert told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" Sunday.

Trump pardoned Arpaio, a former Arizona sheriff, on Friday night, saying in a statement, "Sheriff Joe Arpaio is now eighty-five years old, and after more than fifty years of admirable service to our Nation, he is [a] worthy candidate for a Presidential pardon."

The pardon drew heavy criticism from Democrats and a few Republicans, including both of Arizona's Republican senators. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., tweeted Friday that Trump's "pardon of Joe Arpaio, who illegally profiled Latinos, undermines his claim for the respect of rule of law."

But Bossert said on “This Week” that "just about every modern president makes some controversial pardons.”

“I certainly don't think it's fair to characterize him as not caring about the rule of law," Bossert said of Trump.

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from ABC News: Politics http://ift.tt/2viaEe1

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