President Trump said Wednesday he was granting a full and unconditional pardon to Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and his wife, Imelda, who last year were indicted on charges related to allegedly accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes and laundering the funds.
In a Truth Social post announcing the pre-emptive pardon, Trump asserted that Cuellar was unfairly targeted by the Biden administration because of the congressman’s willingness to criticize the White House’s immigration policies.
“Sleepy Joe went after the Congressman, and even the Congressman’s wonderful wife, Imelda, simply for speaking the TRUTH,” Trump posted.
“Because of these facts, and others, I am hereby announcing my full and unconditional PARDON of beloved Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar, and Imelda. Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!” he added.
Trump shared a letter he received last month from Cuellar’s daughters in which they requested a pardon for their parents. In the letter, Christina and Catherine Cuellar suggested their father’s “independence and honesty” may have contributed to the investigation into his conduct.
“With all our hearts, we humbly ask that you show mercy and compassion to our parents — either by dismissing this case or granting a full and unconditional pardon,” the two daughters wrote in a Nov. 12 letter.
The Justice Department in March 2024 indicted the Cuellars on 14 counts. The indictment outlined payments Henry Cuellar allegedly accepted from an oil company owned by the Azerbaijan government and a Mexican bank.
A judge in August dismissed two of the 14 counts in the case at the request of federal prosecutors and set a trial for next year.
Cuellar in a statement expressed his appreciation to Trump.
“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,” Cuellar said. “This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains. And I intend to meet it head on.”
Cuellar filed to run for re-election shortly after Trump announced the pardon.
Trump has pardoned several people on the basis that he felt they were unfairly targeted by former President Biden’s administration, including with a recent controversial pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.
This story was updated at 1:30 p.m.