President Donald Trump is defending his decision to pardon U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar while making clear he wants South Texas voters to replace the longtime Democrat with Republican challenger Tano Tijerina.
In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump said he granted Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, a full and unconditional pardon after reviewing the case against them and receiving letters from the congressman’s daughters.
“I never assumed he would be running for Office again, and certainly not as a Democrat,” Trump wrote. “But he did, and now, despite doing him by far the greatest favor of his life, 20 years of FREEDOM, I am fighting him for his seat in Congress because his views are not nearly as good or strong as Judge Tano Tijerina.”
Trump said he concluded the Biden administration had politically targeted Cuellar because of his criticism of the administration’s border policies.
“He and his wife were headed to jail for up to 20 years because he was ‘stupid’ in what he did but, above all, because the Biden Administration practiced Political Weaponization on Cuellar and his wife because they didn’t agree with his policies on the Southern Border,” Trump wrote.
While acknowledging Cuellar’s border views were stronger than those of many Democrats, Trump said they did not go far enough.
“I am fighting him for his seat in Congress because his views are not nearly as good or strong as Judge Tano Tijerina, who is much more powerful on the Border issue, cutting Taxes, our Military, and just about everything else than is Henry Cuellar,” Trump wrote.
Trump pardoned Cuellar and his wife in December after they had been facing federal charges alleging bribery and money laundering.
Cuellar was indicted in May 2024 following a 2022 FBI raid on his Laredo home and campaign office. Federal prosecutors alleged that Cuellar and his wife accepted roughly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijani state-owned oil and gas company and a Mexico City-based bank through shell companies tied to Imelda Cuellar. In exchange, prosecutors alleged that Cuellar agreed to use his office to influence U.S. foreign policy and other official actions benefiting those entities.
At the time of the pardon, Trump argued the prosecution was politically motivated, claiming the Biden administration had targeted Cuellar over his opposition to the administration’s handling of the southern border.
Following the pardon, Cuellar thanked Trump, calling the decision a “clean slate” that allowed him to continue serving South Texas.
