Though Trump47 has been a powerhouse of a Republican President, unleashing vast amounts of good and doing everything he can to roll back the leftwing madness of the Biden Administration, every now and then he does something that leaves me scratching my head. The 50-year mortgage and “hey, let’s import tons of Chinese students” trial balloons are two examples. Well, he just dropped another, pardoning indicted Texas Democratic congressman Henry Cuellar and his wife in advance of his bribery trial.
President Donald Trump has pardoned embattled U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) following an ongoing legal battle involving the congressman, his wife, political consultants, and a number of foreign governments.
In a social media post, Trump alleged the Biden administration “weaponized the Justice System against their Political Opponents” like Cuellar.
“Sleepy Joe went after the Congressman, and even the Congressman’s wonderful wife, Imelda, simply for speaking the TRUTH,” Trump wrote.
The president said that Cuellar “spoke out against Open Borders” and that the previous administration would “attack, rob, lie, cheat, destroy, and decimate anyone who dares to oppose their Far Left Agenda, an Agenda that, if left unchecked, will obliterate our magnificent Country.”
My working assumption has been that these political calculations may indeed be why the Biden Administration charged Cuellar…but that he was probably guilty as well.
“Because of these facts, and others,” Trump explains, “I am hereby announcing my full and unconditional PARDON of beloved Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar, and Imelda.”
Snip.
Their case stems from allegations of payments received from foreign entities, including an oil and gas company controlled by the government of Azerbaijan and a bank based in Mexico. The bribes are alleged to total approximately $600,000.
Cuellar has represented Texas’ 28th Congressional District since 2005. But in 2022, allegations of misconduct involving him gained prominence following raids on his residence and campaign office by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The couple was accused of allegedly laundering the money through “sham consulting contracts,” using “front companies and middlemen to funnel it into shell companies” owned by Cuellar’s wife.
It was reported in July that the U.S. Department of Justice was planning on going forward with its case against the congressman. But earlier in the year, Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued directives that limited the extent of enforcement of foreign bribery and lobbying laws.
I can’t say that I see limiting “enforcement of foreign bribery and lobbying laws” as a good thing.
Trump usually has reasons for doing something, even when it’s not apparent at first. Some possibilities,
- Trump actually believes Cuellar to be innocent. Maybe he has access to exonerating evidence that I don’t.
- Maybe Trump feels (probably correctly) that politically Cuellar is toast anyway, since his district was one of the ones recently redistricted in the special session. Maybe the pardon will allow Cuellar to dish dirt on just how Democrats decided to flood the country with illegal aliens, or how they use them to commit voter fraud. The private email and memo possibilities are endless…
- Maybe the pardon taints Cuellar with the Democrat base far more than the bribery charges did. According to Ballotpedia, he already has two primary challengers in Ryan Trevino and Ricardo Villarreal. Maybe the calculation is that the pardon actually weakens Cuellar, making the district flip just that much more likely.
- Maybe he expects Cuellar to change parties, balancing out the loss of Marjorie Taylor Greene, to add a little margin for the GOP-led House.
- Maybe he’s just doing it for the lulz, or to make Democrats even more paranoid than they are.
This is all speculation. But just because it’s something I wouldn’t have done doesn’t mean President Trump doesn’t have his reasons…