Feds Drop Criminal Probe of Sheriff Arpaio

The letter from Ann Birmingham Scheel, acting on the U.S. attorney's behalf, repeatedly said there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against Sheriff Joe Arpaio, former County Attorney Andrew Thomas, or their employees.

At 5 p.m. Friday, before a long holiday weekend, a brief note went out from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix, saying without explanation that the office would not file federal or state criminal charges against "current and former members of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office."

In recent months, it had become increasingly apparent within the legal and law enforcement communities that criminal charges likely would not come out of an investigation that began four years ago under President George W. Bush and spanned the tenures of several Arizona U.S. attorneys.

A letter sent to Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery offered more details. The letter from Ann Birmingham Scheel, acting on the U.S. attorney's behalf, repeatedly said there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against Sheriff Joe Arpaio, former County Attorney Andrew Thomas, or their employees.

Read the full Arizona Republic story.

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