Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) after a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call Inc. | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case, citing what he called a “weaponized” judicial system.
President Trump, who has claimed his legal problems are a partisan witch hunt, said on social media, without providing evidence, that Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, were prosecuted because Cuellar criticized President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
Republican President Trump said in a social media post that Cuellar “bravely spoke out against open borders” and accused Democrat Biden of going after the congressman “simply for telling the truth.”
Federal authorities have charged the Cuellars with accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for lawmakers promoting the interests of an Azerbaijani-controlled energy company and a Mexican bank. Kueyar is accused of influencing legislation favorable to Azerbaijan and agreeing to give pro-Azerbaijan speeches on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mr. Cuellar maintained that he and his wife were innocent. The couple’s trial was scheduled to begin next April.
“Henry, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to sleep well tonight,” President Trump wrote in a social media post announcing the pardon. “Your nightmare is finally over!”
Cuellar, who has served in Congress for more than 20 years, is a moderate Democrat who represents areas along the Texas-Mexico border and has a history of breaking with his party on immigration and firearms.
He has been one of the most vocal critics of the Biden administration’s response to the record number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. He is also one of the last Democrats in Congress to oppose abortion rights.
Cuellar is not the only Democratic lawmaker pardoned by President Trump this year. In February, he pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, five years after his sentence was commuted in a political corruption case.
As with Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Trump suggested that Democratic New York Mayor Eric Adams could be indicted on federal corruption charges for his comments critical of Mr. Biden’s immigration policies.
President Trump did not pardon Adams, but the Justice Department moved to drop a lawsuit against the mayor, who began cooperating with the Republican administration on immigration issues after Trump took office.
A senior Justice Department official who has also represented Mr. Trump in several cases intervened, seeking to have the case dismissed.
