Arpaio plans Monday press conference after Trump pardon

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio plans to hold a press conference Monday in the wake of President Trump’s decision to pardon him.

“I said publicly recently, ‘Pardon or no pardon I will be with him [Trump] until the end.’ And I am going to having a news conference early next week and get to the bottom of this, and show the abuse of the judicial system in politics,” Arpaio told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

“I’m not going down without trying to defend myself to all of those people who don’t like what I’ve done,” Arpaio said.

Arpaio told NBC News that he will hold the press conference on Monday.

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The White House announced Friday that Trump had pardoned Arpaio, who was convicted last month of criminal contempt for disobeying a federal judge’s order in a racial profiling case involving Latinos.

Trump defended his pardon in a tweet Friday night, writing, “He kept Arizona safe!”

“Throughout his time as Sheriff, Arpaio continued his life’s work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration,” the White House said in a statement. 

“Sheriff Joe Arpaio is now eighty-five years old, and after more than fifty years of admirable service to our Nation, he is a worthy candidate for a Presidential pardon,” the statement continued. 

Arpaio, an early backer of Trump’s presidential campaign, first publicly thanked Trump for the pardon on Twitter in which he solicited money for his legal fund.