Trump pardons Democrat Henry Cuellar, who was indicted on bribery charges

President Trump said he is pardoning Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife, who were charged last year with allegedly taking nearly $600,000 in foreign bribes. 

The President announced the pardon for Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, on Truth Social, saying their prosecution was the result of weaponization by the Justice Department under former President Joe Biden.

“Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!” the president wrote, saying that Cuellar’s opposition to Biden’s immigration policies was the reason he was indicted.

Trump wrote that the Texas Democrat “bravely spoke out against Open Borders and the Biden Border ‘Catastrophe'” and accused Biden of deliberately targeting the congressman and his wife “simply for speaking the TRUTH.”

Mr. Trump included in his social media post a letter he received from Cuellar’s daughters requesting clemency for their parents. The two women, Christina and Catherine Cuellar, wrote in their letter, dated Nov. 12, that they believed the congressman’s “independence and honesty may have contributed to how this case began.”

“He has never been afraid to speak his mind, especially when it comes to protecting the people of South Texas and securing the border from policies of the previous administration,” they told the President.

Cuellar thanked Mr. Trump for the pardon and for “taking the time to look at the facts.” “This decision clears the air and lets us move forward for South Texas. This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains. And I intend to meet it head on,” he wrote on X. “Thank you Mr. President, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Cuellar “is a well-respected member of the House of Representatives, a beloved representative down in Laredo and across South Texas. And in my view, the right outcome has been achieved.”