Scott Jenkins, the former sheriff of Culpeper County in Virginia, in 2020. Convicted in 2024 of a range of corruption felonies, he was pardoned last week by President Donald J. Trump. (Eva Hambach, Getty Images)

Scott Jenkins had been the sheriff of Culpeper County, Virginia, for more than a decade when he was indicted in 2023 on multiple corruption counts, including allegations that he accepted more than $75,000 in exchange for issuing badges and the title of “auxiliary deputy sheriff” to at least eight individuals. One of them was a felon who also tapped Mr. Jenkins for assistance getting back his right to possess firearms; two others were undercover FBI agents.

A federal jury last year took just two hours of deliberation to find this lawless lawman guilty of one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services fraud, and seven counts of bribery. In March, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was supposed to report last Tuesday. But a day before that, the former sheriff received a full pardon from President Donald J. Trump, who said on social media that Mr. Jenkins — a “wonderful person” — had been “dragged through HELL” by the........

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