Trump Blasts Arpaio Critics: Dems Pardoned Marc Ri
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President Trump blasted critics of his decision to pardon Sheriff Joe Arpaio, noting President Clinton pardoned or commuted the sentences of Marc Rich and a woman from the left-wing "Weather Underground" militant group.
John Roberts asked Trump about the pardon, inquiring whether the president had a message for his critics.
"He's done a great job for the people of Arizona," Trump said. "I thought he was treated unbelievably unfairly."
Trump said his critics should look to past administrations for examples of presidential pardons that should be criticized.
He said that in contrast to past pardons, Arpaio has been a force in fighting illegal immigration and supporting law enforcement.
Trump said President Obama pardoned FALN member Oscar Lopez Rivera and convicted U.S. military leaker Chelsea Manning.
He pointed out that President Clinton also pardoned investor Marc Rich, who he said illegally bought oil from Iran during the Hostage Crisis.
In 1983, Rich was convicted on 65 counts of tax evasion, wire fraud and his actions involving Tehran.
Trump surmised that Rich was pardoned because he gave "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to Bill and Hillary Clinton.
He noted that Clinton also commuted the sentence of Susan Rosenberg, a member of the Weather Underground militant group.
Rosenberg had been sentenced to 56 years on weapons charges.
Weather Underground members were notably involved in the 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored truck at the Nanuet Mall in Rockland County, N.Y.
A Brinks guard and two members of the Nyack Police Department were killed in an ensuing shootout.
Several suspects were apprehended after they crashed their U-Haul truck a few miles eastward in Nyack, reportedly hoping to have escaped the area on the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Rosenberg herself denied involvement and was not charged in connection with the Nanuet robbery.