Record at a Glance
- Clemency type
- Pardon
- Presidential term
- 2025–Present
- Federal district
- Western District of Virginia
- Offense
- Conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving Federal funds, honest services mail fraud, and honest service wire fraud; honest services mail fraud; honest services wire fraud (three counts); bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds (seven counts)
- Sentence
- 120 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $600 fine (March 21, 2025)
- Current status
- Trump’s 2025 full pardon is the latest event in Jenkins’s covered federal case. No later professional appointment or separate proceeding is included in this chronology.
Original Case
As sheriff of Culpeper County, Virginia, Scott Jenkins accepted more than $75,000 in cash and campaign contributions in exchange for appointing businesspeople—including two undercover FBI agents—as auxiliary deputies. The recipients received official badges and credentials despite not being trained, vetted, or providing legitimate sheriff’s-office services. A December 2024 jury convicted Jenkins of conspiracy, four honest-services wire-fraud counts, and seven federal-program-bribery counts. He received ten years in prison on March 21, 2025.
Clemency
Trump granted Jenkins a full and unconditional pardon on May 27, 2025, after sentencing but before Jenkins began the ten-year prison term. The pardon ended the covered federal punishment and prevented incarceration; it did not turn the jury verdict into an acquittal.
Trump Connection
Jenkins was a Republican county sheriff, but the available clemency materials do not document a personal, campaign, or business relationship with Trump. They identify neither an outside advocate nor an individualized White House rationale. Trump’s pardon came after sentencing and before Jenkins began serving the ten-year term, ending the federal punishment without reversing the jury verdict.
Sources
- Primary Documentation
DOJ: Clemency Grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025–Present)U.S. Department of Justice2026-09-24 - Primary Documentation
DOJ clemency document: Scott Howard JenkinsU.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney2026-09-24 active - Primary Documentation
Original prosecution and sentenceU.S. Department of Justice - Primary Documentation
Signed pardon warrantDOJ / President of the United States