Sheriff Joe Strikes Back

Jun 2, 2009 27 Comments ›› Pat Dollard

KTAR:

PHOENIX – Lawyers for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio have asked for a probe of federal officials who are investigating the sheriff’s office for alleged discrimination and unconstitutional searches.

Arpaio lawyer Robert Driscoll said in a letter that Department of Justice investigators conducting the civil rights probe improperly shared documents with the Department of Homeland Security, which is auditing Arpaio’s use of federal immigration powers.

Arpaio said both examinations are focused on immigration enforcement efforts. Critics said that deputies racially profiled people during immigration sweeps.

Department of Justice spokesman Alejandro Miyar said the agency will review the letter but declined to comment on Arpaio’s investigation request.

The letter came one day after Arpaio charged that the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have an ulterior motive in their investigation into the sheriff’s office.

“After serving with the DOJ for nearly 30 years as a ranking official with the DEA, it is almost painful to have to ask for this investigation,” Arpaio said. “But I must take a stand. Every law enforcement agency the DOJ has investigated in the past has bowed down or rolled over to the federal government. This agency and this sheriff will not. Washington should not tell an elected sheriff how to conduct his law enforcement responsibilities.”

Arpaio also said in a press release that the Obama administration is forcing the sheriff to bend on illegal immigration enforcement.

On March 10, the DOJ announced it was launching an investigation into Arpaio and his illegal immigration policies to see if he was racial profiling the Hispanic community.

Arpaio says since the investigation began, the DOJ investigators have lied to senior sheriff’s office officials and engaged in an orchestrated scheme designed to acquire documents and witness testimony surreptitiously in order to discredit Arpaio and his office.

In a letter to U.S Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Arpaio voiced his concerns about the DOJ’s investigation into his office.

One concern was that the DOJ and DHS officials obtained interviews and documents from senior sheriff’s officials who should have been entitled to legal counsel but were denied.

Another concern Arpaio has is that in the “100 Day Report” to the Obama Administration, DOJ investigators bragged about the accomplishment of the investigation into Arpaio before they even had any evidence or facts.

Arpaio also says the DOJ admitted it based its investigation into Arpaio solely on “media reports”. He says even Congressman John Conyers, Chairman of the Judicial Committee, said he had no facts or evidence other than what he read in the paper before he asked the DOJ to launch its probe.

Arpaio’s attorneys say they are certain this investigation is not about justice but rather about a new Washington D.C. administration that wants Arpaio to do things the president’s way, for the president’s purpose.