Former President Trump Pardons Texas Democrat Cuellar Amid Bribery Case
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Former President Donald Trump has issued a pardon to U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat. Cuellar faces federal bribery and corruption charges.
Prosecutors indicted the congressman last year on more than a dozen criminal charges. They accuse him of accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijani oil company and a Mexican bank.
A pardon forgives a federal crime and restores certain rights, but it does not erase the indictment. Cuellar’s trial will proceed unless the Department of Justice drops the case. He has pleaded not guilty and maintains his innocence.
The pardon highlights an unusual political alliance. Cuellar is one of the most conservative Democrats in the House and has occasionally broken with his party.