President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will grant a pardon to Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife, who were indicted on charges including bribery in 2024.
In a social media post, Trump alleged that former President Joe Biden’s administration “went after the congressman, and even the congressman’s wonderful wife, Imelda,” because Cuellar “bravely spoke out against Open Borders” and Biden’s immigration policy. Cuellar, who is a Democrat representing Texas, is a moderate who has often bucked his party on votes in the House.
Representative Henry Cuellar is seen at the United States Capitol, June 4, 2024.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, FILE
Prosecutors alleged that Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, began accepting approximately $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company owned by the government of Azerbaijan, as well as a bank based in Mexico City.
Cuellar, of Texas, allegedly influenced a series of legislative measures related to Azerbaijan’s conflict with neighboring Armenia, and inserted language favored by Azerbaijan into legislation and committee reports governing certain security and economic aid programs, according to the indictment.
In this Jan. 6, 2015, file photo, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio administers a ceremonial reenactment of the House swearing-in to Rep. Henry Cuellar, accompanied by his wife Imelda, at the Capitol in Washington, DC.
Cliff Owen/AP, FILE
Cuellar and his wife pleaded not guilty to the charges and were to go to trial next April.
Trump said that although he doesn’t know Cuellar, he hopes he can “sleep well tonight.”
“Your nightmare is finally over!” Trump added in Wednesday’s social media post.
Cuellar thanked Trump in a social media post on Wednesday.
“I thank God for being with my family and me during this difficult time. This decision clears the air and allows us to move forward into South Texas,” Cuellar said in the post.
Cuellar told reporters that he plans to go to the White House Christmas party next week to “personally thank the president,” adding that he had no prior notice that the pardon would come Wednesday.
Cuellar also shot down speculation that he might join the Republican Party.
“I’m a conservative Democrat, I’m very bipartisan and I work with my Republican friends when I need to work with my Republican friends,” he said.
Asked for his reaction to Trump’s pardon of Cuellar, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said “the right outcome has been achieved.”
“Henry Cuellar is a highly respected member of the House of Representatives. A beloved representative in Laredo and throughout South Texas and, in my opinion, the right result has been achieved,” Jeffries said.
Trump has made extensive use of his pardon power during the first year of his second term, including by former New York Republican Reps. George Santos and Michael Grimm. Cuellar is the only congressional Democrat Trump has pardoned so far, although he also granted clemency to former Democratic Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.
The president has come under scrutiny for some of his pardon actions, including granting a pardon to cryptocurrency magnate Changpeng Zhao, as well as his pardon to Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras.
