Henry and Imelda Cuellar
- Status
- Pardon granted before trial
- Clemency
- Pardon (pre-trial) · Dec 2, 2025
- People
- Donald Trump
- The case
- Charged in an indictment unsealed in May 2024 with bribery and conspiracy, alleging about $600,000 from an oil company owned by Azerbaijan’s government and a Mexican bank.
THE LINK TO TRUMP’S ORBIT
No payment or donation is documented in the cited sources. Trump, pardoning a Democrat, said Cuellar had been targeted by a “weaponized” Justice Department for opposing open borders.
WHAT THE RECORD SHOWS
The pardon ended the prosecution before trial. Cuellar was running for re-election at the time.
RESPONSE
Cuellar thanked Trump and said the decision “clears the air.”
Correction. An earlier version dated the pardon December 3, 2025 and said the indictment came in March 2024. The Justice Department list dates the pardon December 2, 2025, and the indictment was unsealed in May 2024. Corrected September 18, 2026.
SOURCES
- PBS NewsHour (Associated Press): Trump pardons Cuellar in bribery and conspiracy case ↗
- The Texas Tribune: Donald Trump pardons Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar ↗
- U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney: Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present) ↗
- The Texas Tribune: Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar indicted on charges of bribery, money laundering ↗
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