March 02, 2012 01:16 AM UTC

At Least He's Not Your Sheriff

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• by: Colorado Pols

Arizona Sheriff Joe “Asshat” Arpaio is at it again. Seems like a really good use of taxpayer money, don’t it? From CBS News:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, announced Thursday that his six-month investigation had found that “probable cause exists indicating that forgery and fraud may have been committed” in the release of President Obama’s long-form birth certificate.

The publicity-hungry Arpaio, a strong opponent of illegal immigration who calls himself “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” said the evidence gathered by his investigators suggests Mr. Obama’s birth certificate and selective service registration card are fakes…

…The 79-year-old Arpaio, who has been accused by the Justice Department of racial profiling and who is being probed by a federal grand jury over potential abuse of power, said he told his investigators to examine the president’s documents with “no preconceived notions,” adding that he “felt that this investigation could clear President Obama’s name and put people’s minds at ease.”

Arpaio became Maricopa County sheriff in 1993, and has been elected five times. He said the investigation, undertaken by his five-member volunteer “Cold Case Posse” at the request of an Arizona Tea Party group, did not involve any cost to taxpayers.

So how exactly does a 6-MONTH INVESTIGATION not involve taxpayer money if Arpaio “directed his investigators” to work on the issue? Is he admitting, then, that he requires investigators to do his bidding off the clock?