Donald Trump stuns Washington with unexpected pardon of Texas Democrat, calls him ‘beloved’ – but why?

President Donald Trump said that he’s giving a “full and unconditional pardon” to Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas. This is an extremely rare move because Cuellar was charged last year with serious conspiracy and bribery crimes, which he says he didn’t do. Trump also confirmed he will pardon Cuellar’s wife, Imelda, who faced the same charges.

This decision creates a huge political mess. Trump has pardoned former Democrats before, but pardoning someone who currently sits in Congress is almost unheard of. According to Axios, Cuellar and his wife were charged in May 2024 and accused of taking nearly $600,000 in bribes.

So why did Trump step in? In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed the Biden administration used the Justice System as a weapon against Cuellar. According to Trump, the Texas Democrat was prosecuted because he spoke out against the Biden Border crisis.

Trump says Cuellar was treated badly for opposing open borders

Trump said Cuellar is a “respected person” who was treated very badly because he said people shouldn’t be allowed to pour into the U.S., according to a White House pool report. To back up his decision, Trump also shared a letter from the Cuellars’ daughters. They asked for mercy for their parents, calling them “honest individuals” and “good, decent people.”

“Because of these facts, and others, I am hereby announcing my full and unconditional pardon of beloved Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar,” Trump wrote. This comes as the administration continues turning Washington into a gun paradise.

The charges against Cuellar are serious, which makes this pardon so shocking. The $600,000 in alleged bribes was supposedly taken in exchange for Cuellar influencing U.S. foreign policy to help two different groups: Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank.

The charges said Cuellar used his position as the top Democrat on a key House committee dealing with national security to get provisions added to major laws. These provisions were meant to increase U.S. security spending for Azerbaijan. He was also accused of supporting laws that blocked payday lending rules and loosened criminal money laundering laws to help the Mexican bank.

Cuellar has always said he’s innocent. When he was charged, he said he talked with the House Ethics Committee to make sure everything he did was completely legal. The pardon comes amid growing tensions over Pete Hegseth’s war crimes controversy. Cuellar told reporters he’s definitely not switching parties and will run for reelection. He thanked Trump on X, writing that the pardon gives him “a clean slate.”