President Donald Trump pardoned Texas Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, on Wednesday. The Cuellars were indicted for bribery last year for allegedly accepting around $600,000 in bribes.
In a Truth Social post, Trump accused the former Biden administration of having “weaponized the justice system against their political opponent.” He condemned Biden’s investigation into Cuellar, claiming that Cuellar was only targeted for speaking out against the Biden administration’s border policies.
Henry and Imelda Cuellar were each charged in May 2024 with various offenses, including conspiracy, bribery, and money laundering. An Azerbaijani state-owned energy company and a Mexican bank offered the bribes. According to the federal indictment, the bribes were laundered via consulting contracts into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar. Congressman Cuellar was alleged to have agreed to influence US foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan in exchange for the bribes.
Congressman Cuellar denied all allegations against him and his wife. He stated in a post on X:
I want to thank President Trump for his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts. I thank God for standing with my family and I during this difficult time. This decision clears the air and lets us move forward for South Texas.
Congressman Cuellar was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2004 and will run for re-election as a Democrat.
Cuellar’s pardon follows a pattern of actions taken by the Trump administration after the downsizing of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section (PIN), which was created to investigate sensitive political cases regarding corruption. Trump has pardoned or commuted sentences for multiple defendants facing prosecutions within the PIN, of which Cuellar’s case was one.
