Sheriff Joe Arpaio referred for criminal contempt charges in Arizona racial profiling case

Fresh off the news that the FBI is investigating ex-Trump campaign head Paul Manafort's consultancy ties to pro-Russian Ukrainian officials, Trump's favorite sheriff may find himself in the pokey himself.

Federal Judge G. Murray Snow has asked the US Attorney's Office to file criminal contempt charges against [Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio] and some of his subordinates over failure to follow the court's instructions in a racial profiling case. [...]

Arpaio has "a history of obfuscation and subversion of this court's orders that is as old as this case," Snow wrote, adding that he and a deputy "intentionally made a number of false statements under oath."

"There is also probable cause to believe that many if not all of the statements were made in an attempt to obstruct any inquiry into their further wrongdoing and negligence," the judge continued.

Arpaio's department was found by federal investigation to have engaged in systemic racial profiling against Latino residents of his county; despite settling with the Department of Justice, a court monitor reported that his department has not implemented the required reforms, and Snow found in civil contempt proceedings earlier this year that Arpaio had acted in "dishonesty" and "bad faith" in regards to court orders to do so. Snow's new criminal contempt finding indicates he believes Arpaio acted with intent in defying earlier court orders; if the US Attorney's Office decides to prosecute, Arpaio could face fines and/or jail time.

Like Trump himself, Arpaio has also been a key figure promoting the notion that the sitting American president is not a legitimate United States citizen. That's not against the law, he's just an idiot. 

Snow had delayed an earlier court date so that Arpaio could speak at the Republican National Convention.