Pardoned Democrat Who Betrayed Trump Now Finding He Doesn’t Have Many Friends Left
Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, who received a pardon from President Donald Trump only to betray him, now finds he doesn’t have many friends on Capitol Hill.
Trump pardoned Cuellar and his wife – both indicted by Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) on corruption charges – earlier in December, saying the Democrat had been unfairly targeted because he spoke out against Biden’s handling of the crisis at the southern border.
Prosecutors alleged that Cuellar and his wife accepted approximately $600,000 from an Azerbaijani state-controlled oil and gas company and a Mexican financial entity, between 2014 and 2021. In exchange for these funds, Cuellar allegedly agreed to leverage his position in Congress to promote Azerbaijan’s interests. However, he and his wife disputed these accusations.
It’s pretty clear that the pardon was part of a deal to get Cuellar to retire or run for re-election as a Republican rather than a Democrat, in order to help the Republican Party’s chances of retaining the House in 2026. On Sunday, after Cuellar announced he would be collage with the Democratic Party, Trump lashed out. (RELATED: Trump explodes after pardoned Texas Rep. Cuellar launches re-election bid as a Democrat)
“Congressman Henry Cuellar has announced that he will run again for Congress, in the great state of Texas (a state where I received the highest number of votes ever!), as a Democrat, continuing to work with the same radical left scum who just weeks before wanted him and his wife to spend the rest of their lives in prison,” the president wrote on TruthSocial. “And it probably still is! Such a lack of LOYALTY, something Texas voters and Henry’s daughters won’t like. Oh’ [sic] well, next time, more Mr. Nice!
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 10: Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) (C) and Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) (L) arrive at the U.S. Capitol on December 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. The House is expected to vote today on the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Cuellar has certainly cut ties with Trump. And now, as he seeks to regain his place on the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), some of his Democratic colleagues are skeptical he will return. The position gave him significant power to control how DHS uses its $60 billion in annual spending.
“This position is crucial — it’s homeland security,” one Democrat told Politico. “Your moral values are important – at least mine are – and I can’t look in the mirror and vote for him.”
“I’ve had nothing but good interactions with Henry in Congress, but we can’t be the party that follows the law and say it’s all right to break it and get a pardon from Trump,” said Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton, who recently launched a Senate bid.
“President Trump’s continued efforts to pardon politicians convicted or accused of corruption are simply wrong,” New Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kim told Politico. “And this is exactly the kind of problem that is causing so many Americans to lose faith in our politics.” »
Cuellar still has some allies in Congress, like Louisiana Democratic Rep. Troy Carter.
“Under our system of laws, you are always innocent until proven guilty,” Carter said. “He was charged but never tried – he was never proven guilty, nor innocent, because there was no trial, but grace trumps that. That’s how the ball bounces.”
But the whole saga should never have come true. Cuellar’s pardon, which now appears to have been political, is one of several Trump pardons that appear corrupt on the surface, or, at the very least, unethical. In an interview after pardoning convicted crypto-billionaire Changpeng Zhao, Trump admitted: “I don’t know who he is.”
For all of this administration’s concerns about the Biden White House’s “automatic-open” pardon system, one has to wonder if something similar is happening with Trump 47.
Sign up for John Loftus’ weekly newsletter here! Follow John Loftus on X: @JohnCFLoftus1
