Trump Pardons Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar in Bribery Case
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Wednesday granted a pardon to Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and his wife, Imelda, who were indicted in 2024 on charges of bribery, unlawful foreign influence, and money laundering. The pardon comes despite Cuellar having voted to impeach Trump in both 2019 and 2021.
The FBI raided Cuellar’s Laredo home in 2022 investigating allegations he accepted approximately $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijani oil and gas company and a Mexican bank.
Trump announced the pardon on his Truth Social platform, stating, “Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight – your nightmare is finally over!”
Cuellar, who filed for re-election on the same day as the pardon, expressed gratitude to Trump “for his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts,” adding that the pardon provides “a clean slate.” He affirmed he has no plans to switch political parties, stating, “Nothing has changed. I’m a conservative democrat, I’m very bipartisan.”
The pardon is the latest in a series of recent clemency actions by Trump, including pardons for former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted of drug trafficking, and Trump’s former attorney, Rudy Giuliani, accused of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump justified the pardon by accusing former President Joe Biden of politically persecuting Cuellar for disagreeing with his administration’s policies, specifically regarding the U.S.-Mexico border, which falls within Cuellar’s congressional district. He also referenced a letter from Cuellar’s daughters appealing for “compassion and clemency,” in which they stated their father had worked to protect South Texas and secure “the border from the policies of the previous administration.”
