President Donald Trump shook up the political landscape on Wednesday by granting full pardons to Texas Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife, Imelda. This action wiped away the federal bribery and conspiracy charges against them that had hung over the couple since last year. In a post on Truth Social, Trump framed the high-profile DOJ case as a partisan attack and positioned himself as the one correcting what he called a historic wrong.
Cuellar, a Democrat who has represented Texas’s 28th Congressional District since 2005, faced allegations tied to an international bribery scheme. Now, thanks to Trump, the entire case is gone. Trump made it clear that he saw this move not just as a legal correction but also as a political blow aimed at his predecessor, Joe Biden.
In his statement, Trump claimed that Biden’s Department of Justice targeted Cuellar not due to evidence against him but because he disagreed with the administration on immigration policy. Trump asserted that the indictment was retribution for Cuellar’s outspoken criticism of the Biden administration on border security.
“For years, the Biden Administration used the Justice System against their Political Opponents and anyone who disagreed with them,” Trump wrote. He called Cuellar’s case “one of the clearest examples” of this claimed abuse, accusing “Crooked Joe” of leveraging federal law enforcement to “take out” a member of his own party after Cuellar “bravely spoke out against Open Borders and the Biden Border ‘Catastrophe.’”
I want to thank President Trump for his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts. 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.
This pardon gives us a… pic.twitter.com/ajNvHq6rG0
— Rep. Henry Cuellar (@RepCuellar) December 3, 2025
Trump then expanded his attack, insisting that Biden and the Justice Department “went after the Congressman, and even the Congressman’s wonderful wife, Imelda, simply for speaking the TRUTH.”
While Cuellar had maintained his innocence throughout the investigation, Trump’s intervention shifts the case from a legal issue to a broader political conflict. The president portrayed the pardons as not only a way to clear Cuellar but also as a retaliatory act, sending a message to critics that he will wield his executive power as forcefully as he believes Biden did.
“Because of these facts, and others, I am hereby announcing my full and unconditional PARDON of beloved Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar and Imelda,” Trump declared. In typical fashion, he added a dramatic touch: “Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!”
For Democrats, the pardon presents a challenging situation. Cuellar has long held a centrist position within the party, often conflicting with progressives and taking tougher stances on border policy than many of his peers. His indictment had already stirred tension within the Democratic caucus, leaving some members conflicted between supporting due process and distancing themselves from a colleague under federal scrutiny.
Now, his legal troubles have been unexpectedly resolved by a president from the opposing party, who openly states that the move was aimed at embarrassing Biden.
As of Wednesday evening, the Justice Department had not commented on Trump’s decision, and Cuellar had not released a statement. However, shockwaves spread through Washington. Trump did more than just pardon a sitting congressman; he turned the entire prosecution into a narrative of political revenge and portrayed himself as the one restoring order.
