US President Donald Trump yesterday said he was granting a “full and unconditional pardon” to Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas, and his wife Imelda, who were charged with bribery.
Last year, Cuellar and his wife were indicted for allegedly accepting close to $600,000 in bribes in two schemes meant to benefit an Azerbaijani state-owned energy company and an unnamed bank based in Mexico. He has maintained his innocence and that of his wife.
With a pardon from the Republican president resolving his legal problems, Cuellar is seeking a 12th two-year term with his Democratic Party throwing its full support behind him.
In thanking Trump on social media, Cuellar also said: “This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains. And I intend to meet it head on.”
A source said that in the lead-up to the pardon, Cuellar hired a lawyer who had served in Justice Department leadership positions during Trump’s first presidential term.
The source said that the former official sought to have the Justice Department dismiss the case, saying that it was an example of improper weaponisation.
&uuid=(email))