The corruption is as brazen as it is constant.

On Monday, President Trump pardoned former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins before the start of his 10-year federal prison sentence for bribery and corruption. The Republican sheriff was convicted by a jury who found that he received envelopes stuffed with cash and checks totaling more than $100,000 from wealthy citizens in return for deputy badges. The evidence against Jenkins included undercover photos and videos of the sheriff accepting the payments. It was what prosecutors and agents call a slam-dunk case — until the president intervened. Under Trump, corruption isn’t what it used to be. It used to be a shameful act conducted in shadowy backrooms or darkened corner tables. When a disgraced official was caught and convicted, they often slinked off to serve their sentence in silence and humiliation. At least one state, Pennsylvania, even added plaques under lawmakers’ official portraits in the state Capitol with details of their corruption convictions. Now, instead of begging for forgiveness from the public, the guilty are unashamedly pleading for a pardon from the president. The head of a law enforcement agency is undeserving of a pardon when he betrays his badge, but not in Trump’s eyes. The president’s decision to pardon the sheriff was as boldly public as the sheriff’s lobbying for the pardon. Historically, many pardons have been issued quietly, often as a president was leaving office. As legal expert Kermit Roosevelt noted, “Because pardons can be politically embarrassing or costly, presidents often give them at the end of their terms.” Not anymore. The president trumpeted the pardon in a Truth Social post, proclaiming, “Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL.” The sheriff’s case isn’t a one-off. Earlier this year, Trump pardoned Paul Walczak, a former nursing home company executive who pleaded guilty in 2024 to tax crimes. You read that right: Walczak told the court he was guilty. Yet while her son’s pardon decision was pending, Walczak's mother received an invitation to Mar-a-Lago for a $1-million-a-plate fundraiser with a promise of a personal meeting with the president. She attended the dinner and, three weeks later, Trump pardoned her son. It's hard to keep up with all the corruption because it's as brazen as it is constant.