DOJ won’t file criminal charges against Arpaio

The Justice Department (DOJ) closed their investigation into Maricopa County, Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio's alleged abuses of power on Friday, announcing they are not filing charges against the man known as “America’s Toughest Sheriff.”

"After careful review, we do not believe the allegations presented to us are prosecutable as crimes," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Birmingham Scheel, acting on behalf of the DOJ, wrote to Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, according to multiple reports.

The investigation sought evidence of criminal behavior in the sheriff's anti-public-corruption squad. Some officials investigated by the squad alleged Arpaio and other members of the sheriff's and county attorney's offices targeted them in retaliation for political and legal disagreements. The federal financial probe investigated claims of misuse of county funds.

The announcement of no criminal charges was made late on Friday, prompting criticism from Arpaio supporters who had said the administration tried to discredit him due to his controversial enforcement of anti-illegal immigration laws.

Federal investigators "cleared my office of any abuse of power or wrongdoing that has been going on for years, and publicized almost every week for three years by the news media and critics," Arpaio said at a news conference after the announcement, according to CNN. "I am very happy with that."

A separate investigation into allegations of racial discrimination by the sheriff is ongoing from a civil complaint filed by the DOJ in May. That case could result in a court order demanding policy changes, but not criminal charges or jail time.

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