Topline
President Donald Trump pardoned Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas on Wednesday after the lawmaker was indicted on bribery charges last year, claiming the Democrat was unfairly targeted by the Biden administration—the latest instance of Trump pardoning those, and specifically politicians, he claims were unfairly punished for their political beliefs.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, on May 15, 2024, in Washington D.C.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Key Facts
Trump said on Truth Social he had granted a “full and unconditional PARDON” to Cuellar and his wife, after the congressman was indicted in 2024 for allegedly accepting bribes from foreign entities.
Prosecutors accused Cuellar and his wife of accepting approximately $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company run by the Government of Azerbaijan and a Mexico-based bank, and he was slated to go on trial in April.
Cuellar pleaded not guilty to the charges and said in a statement after his indictment, “Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas.”
Trump had long backed Cuellar despite the lawmaker being on the other side of the aisle—and twice voting to impeach Trump—claiming after his 2024 indictment that Cuellar, who votes as a moderate Democrat, was targeted for opposing the Biden administration’s border policy.
His administration had continued its case against Cuellar despite the president’s support of the lawmaker, with The New York Times reporting in July the Justice Department was believed to be moving forward with the case, though prosecutors were likely to drop other charges under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Crucial Quote
Trump claimed on Truth Social that the Biden administration targeted Cuellar and his wife for “speaking the TRUTH” after the lawmaker criticized the government’s border policy, attaching a letter Cuellar’s daughters sent to Trump that claimed their parents were unfairly prosecuted and asked the president to grant them clemency. “Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!” Trump wrote.