The White House has readied the paperwork for President Donald Trump to pardon former Sheriff Joe Arpaio and also has prepared talking points to explain the decision to do so, CNN reported on Wednesday.
Arpaio, who was an early Trump supporter, was found guilty last month of criminal contempt of court after defying a 2011 court order to stop apprehending suspected undocumented immigrants, which the court ruled amounted to racial profiling, The Hill reported.
Arpaio is scheduled to be sentenced in October and could face up to six months in jail.
Trump hinted during his rally in Phoenix on Tuesday night that he plans to pardon Arpaio, but that he wouldn't take such an action immediately in order to avoid "controversy," Politico reported.
But the president did tell the crowd that "I'll make a prediction: I think he's going to be just fine."
It remains unclear, however, the apparent timing of the decision.
According to CNN, one of the talking points the White House has prepared states that it is not appropriate to send Arpaio to prison for "enforcing the law" and "working to keep people safe" after he served the country for 50 years in the military, the Drug Enforcement Administration and as an Arizona sheriff.
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