the only reason to do these right now is to use the cover of hurricane harvey to avoid scrutiny .
 
story continued below seb gorka had no future in the white house , and gorka had aligned himself closely with now ousted chief strategist steve bannon .
( john moore ) as joseph arpaio ’s federal case headed toward trial this past spring , president trump wanted to act to help the former arizona county sheriff who had become a campaign - trail companion and a partner in their crusade against illegal immigration .
trump 's administration announced a series of polarizing decisions that had been under discussions for weeks , just as a hurricane bore down on the texas coast .
so the president waited , all the while planning to issue a pardon if arpaio was found in contempt of court for defying a federal judge ’s order to stop detaining people merely because he suspected them of being undocumented immigrants .
after talking with sessions , trump decided to let the case go to trial , and if arpaio was convicted , he could grant clemency .
 
the pardon , the exit and the guidelines all came on while criticism of president trump 's moves could be expected from democrats like sen. chuck schumer ( right ) , some republicans such as sen. john mccain also registered their disapproval .