Donald Trump, in both his first and second terms, has never been shy about pardoning his political allies, whether it was longtime allies who have assisted him, or Republican elected members of Congress (like George Santos, Duncan Hunter, Jr., and Chris Collins) who have been convicted of crimes.
Trump has also sometimes pardoned Democratic officials convicted of crimes, such as former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, although both of those pardons came after the men were long out of politics and had served time in prison.
But Trump’s pardon of Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) represents the first time Trump has pardoned a sitting Democratic elected official. And naturally, Trump floated a Joe Biden-related conspiracy theory in order to do it.
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Cuellar, a veteran Democratic lawmaker, was indicted last year, along with his wife Imelda, on charges that included bribery and money laundering, after they were accused of taking payments of $600,000 from Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company and a Mexican bank. and they had been awaiting trial.
But now, he’s been pardoned by the president.
In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed, seemingly baselessly, that Cuellar had been indicted as retaliation from the Biden administration for disagreeing with them about border policies.
“For years, the Biden Administration weaponized the Justice System against their Political Opponents, and anyone who disagreed with them,” the post said. “One of the clearest examples of this was when Crooked Joe used the FBI and DOJ to ‘take out’ a member of his own Party after Highly Respected Congressman Henry Cuellar bravely spoke out against Open Borders, and the Biden Border ‘Catastrophe.’ Sleepy Joe went after the Congressman, and even the Congressman’s wonderful wife, Imelda, simply for speaking the TRUTH. It is unAmerican and, as I previously stated, the Radical Left Democrats are a complete and total threat to Democracy!”
With the pardon of Rep. Henry Cuellar D-TX, who had been accused of bribery and corruption, President Trump has now pardoned 12 members of Congress – 10 Republicans and 2 Democrats. (All but Cuellar had been convicted.) pic.twitter.com/2CKCxxKuIk
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) December 3, 2025
Cuellar, who immediately announced that he plans to run for re-election, will now find himself in a position where he’s a sitting Democrat in Congress who, essentially, owes his freedom to the president of the opposite party. The Congressman was clear, however, that he will run as a Democrat and is not planning to switch parties.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
