Trump Pardons Virginia Sheriff Convicted in Pay-to-Carry Bribery Scheme

Thanks to President Donald Trump, former Culpeper County, Virginia Sheriff Scott Jenkins won’t be reporting to federal prison to serve out the ten-year sentence handed down in March after he was convicted on bribery and and other charges after allegedly exchanging badges and access to carry a firearm as law enforcement in exchange for cash. 

Jenkins was granted a full pardon by the president on Monday, with Trump saying that Jenkins was the victim of a weaponized Justice Department under Joe Biden. 

“Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ,” Trump said in a Monday post on Truth Social announcing the pardon. 

Jenkins, who served as the sheriff of Culpeper County in Northern Virginia for more than a decade until he lost his reelection bid in 2023, was convicted on one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services mail and wire fraud, and seven counts of bribery concerning programs receiving public funds. 

Prosecutors alleged that Jenkins accepted cash bribes and bribes in the form of campaign contributions from various individuals, including two who were undercover FBI agents. He offered them badges and credentials despite not being trained or vetted and not offering any services to the sheriff’s office, they argued. 

Jenkins was also accused of pressuring local officials to restore one of the individuals’ right to own a firearm despite their status as a convicted felon. 

Three of the men, including the previously convicted felon, already pleaded guilty for their roles in the bribery scheme before Jenkins was found guilty. 

According to testimony and evidence offered during Jenkins’ trial, one of the motivations for obtaining the badges was the ability to carry a firearm under the auspices of serving as a special auxiliary deputy. 

Court records filed in final preparation for the trial allege “the origins of the bribery scheme” go all the way back to 2011, when Jenkins was first running for office. A donor to that campaign gave $5,000 and was later sworn in as auxiliary deputy in 2012, according to records. Jenkins is not charged with any crime connected to that payment, but the same court records allege Jenkins and that donor worked since 2015 to find other “wealthy Northern Virginia businessmen who wanted to be sworn as auxiliary deputies in exchange for campaign contributions.”

In text message conversations, Jenkins and someone listed in court records as Individual 1 referred to Individual 1’s recruits as “money guys.” The “money guys” were motivated to purchase sheriff’s badges primarily because Jenkins and Individual 1 told them that the badges gave them authority to carry a concealed weapon in all 50 states without obtaining a concealed carry permit.

In addition, according to a preview of the trial filed by prosecutors, Jenkins and Individual 1 allegedly told the “money guys” if they were pulled over by law enforcement while driving, they could show their badges and credentials to request “professional courtesy” and avoid a ticket.

Interestingly enough, while Jenkins was pardoned by Trump, it doesn’t appear that the three men who pled guilty to their own charges related to the alleged bribes were given the same clemency by the president. If Jenkins is truly the victim of a corrupt and weaponized DOJ, it stands to reason that his supposed co-conspirators were also victimized by the Biden administration, so it’s unclear why they weren’t granted pardons of their own. 

It’s also unclear if Trump plans to take any action agains the DOJ attorneys who led the prosecution against Jenkins. As of Tuesday morning, Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie Smith and attorneys Celia Choy and Lina Peng all appear to still be employed by the Justice Department, but if the president believes that they were directly involved in a politically motivated prosecution against the sheriff it would be odd to leave them in their current roles, at least without taking some sort of disciplinary action. 

So was Jenkins singled out by the Biden administration because of his high-profile position as a pro-2A (and pro-Trump) sheriff in the D.C. exurbs? It’s entirely possible, though it appears that the investigation into Jenkins’ actions turned up some pretty compelling evidence that he was, in fact, exchanging badges for cash. If President Trump wants to pardon the former sheriff that’s his prerogative, but if Jenkins was truly the victim of a malicious prosecution I think it’s only right that the president grant the same relief to the other defendants caught up in the same dragnet… as well as punish the DOJ employees who must have willfully targeted them for political purposes.