Trump to pardon Rep. Cuellar, says charges were retaliation for border stance

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will issue a full pardon to Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, "Henry, I don't know you, but you can sleep well tonight — your nightmare is finally over!"

Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, were indicted last year on 14 counts of federal corruption charges.

The DOJ said that starting in December 2014 and through November 2021, that Cuellar and his wife allegedly accepted approximately $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company owned by the Azerbaijan government and from a bank headquartered in Mexico City.

Prosecutors said the payments were then allegedly laundered, "pursuant to sham consulting contracts, through a series of front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar, who performed little to no legitimate work under the contracts."

The DOJ said Cuellar then allegedly agreed to use his office to influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan in exchange for the bribes.

Three people have pleaded guilty in connection to the case.

Trump said he believed the charges were a result of a "weaponized" Department of Justice, accusing the Biden administration of targeting Cuellar after he "bravely spoke out against Open Borders, and the Biden Border Catastrophe."

On social media, Cuellar thanked Trump. "I want to thank President Trump for his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts," said Cuellar. "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."

Speaking to reporters in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Cuellar said that he was grateful to the president.

Cuellar has maintained his innocence since the FBI raided his Laredo home in January of 2022. In an interview with Texas Public Radio in June of 2024— the first interview following the indictment — Cuellar said he believed he was targeted because he is a conservative Democrat.

"Well, first of all you know my wife and I are innocent of the allegations that the government Washington DC prosecutors have made," Cuellar told TPR.

And he points to the timing pattern by the DOJ in his case and the election cycle.

"Let's look at a couple things," Cuellar said. "Number one, the last time they did the search. It happened about 40 days before the election," he said.

Cuellar also pointed out that he faced a difficult primary in 2022 due to his conservative stances on immigration and abortion.

The FBI raid of Cuellar's home happened weeks before early voting began. He was challenged by progressive Jessica Cisneros. Cuellar was pushed into a primary run-off against Cisneros, and he eventually won after two recounts and with a margin that was just under 300 votes.

Two years later, Cuellar and his wife were indicted ahead of the 2024 election.

"My attorneys tried to sit down with them and ask them, 'Can we wait? You waited two years. Can we wait until after the November election?' They wanted to move forward," Cuellar said, adding, "I certainly question their motives on that."

Cuellar in November secured his 11th term by a wider margin representing the 28th Congressional District, which stretches from San Antonio to Laredo to the Rio Grande Valley. Cuellar's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump last year became the first former president to be convicted of a crime — being found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money scheme. Since being re-elected in November, Trump has repeatedly claimed without evidence that he has been a victim of a weaponized Justice Department.

This is a developing story and will be updated.
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