A former sheriff in Virginia, Scott Jenkins, was found guilty of taking over $75,000 in bribes.
He got the bribes for hiring people as law officers without training.
Two of these people worked for the FBI.
Jenkins was supposed to go to jail for 10 years.
But then President Trump gave him a pardon.
So Jenkins won’t have to go to jail at all.
Trump said Jenkins was treated unfairly.
He thinks the case against Jenkins was too harsh.
Jenkins’ family was hurt by the case, Trump said.
People who paid Jenkins wanted to be deputy sheriffs.
This way, they wouldn’t get tickets for traffic violations.
They also wanted to carry guns without a permit.
The deputy sheriff position is volunteer.
But these people would have the same power as paid law officers.
The acting attorney general in Virginia said Jenkins broke the law.
He used his position for personal gain.
This case shows that officials who abuse their power will be punished.
But Jenkins asked Trump for help after he was found guilty.
And Trump gave him a pardon.
This story is based on a report from bbc.