It seems that Representative Henry Cuellar did not follow the rules of the game.
Last week, President Donald Trump, a Republican, sent ripples through Capitol Hill when he unexpectedly pardoned a conservative Democratic lawmaker from Texas and his wife, who were indicted on corruption charges in 2024. Some observers speculated that a partisan shift — which could boost Republicans’ chances of retaining their narrow majority in the House — may be imminent. Instead, Rep. Cuellar immediately turned around and filed to run again in his southern border district… as a Democrat.
On Sunday, President Trump decried Mr. Cuellar’s “lack of loyalty” on social media, and that was it His long position With growing frustration: “Next time, no more Mr. Nice Guy!”
Why did we write this?
Historians say presidential pardons have been used in ways ranging from serving the interests of the chief executive’s family to uniting a fractured nation after the war. When power is abused, it can pose a direct threat to democracy, say some critics of President Donald Trump’s actions.
It is the latest example of how Mr. Trump is making the presidential pardon power a prominent feature of his second term, much more so than it was in his first. This extensive use of clemency reflects Mr. Trump’s broader and more assertive claim to executive authority since regaining office. His pardon comments often reflect his sympathy for supporters – as well as Mr Trump’s grievances about the justice system, in the wake of the four criminal indictments against him, one of which resulted in a conviction (he is now appealing).
Critics see a “pay-to-play” mentality behind some of Mr. Trump’s pardons. The October pardon of billionaire Changpeng Zhao – founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – was followed by a court ruling. Expanded partnership Between Binance and the Trump family’s cryptocurrency company, World Liberty Financial. The White House denies any connection. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, He criticized the pardon In the name of “corruption”.
Some pardons even appear to conflict with the administration’s goals. On December 2, Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, freeing him from a 45-year prison sentence in the United States for helping drug traffickers move cocaine into the United States. The pardon came at a time when the United States intensified its military campaign against drug trafficking, bombing boats suspected of transporting drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
However, many of Trump’s pardons this year appear personal, coming after his own legal troubles. Between his first and second terms, he faced Mr. Trump Several major legal cases. At times, he spoke of others’ entanglements with the justice system in language similar to what he described himself to be.
In his Truth Social post on Sunday about the Cuellar family, Mr. Trump said he “felt very good about fighting for a family that was being tortured by very sick, deranged people — they were treated very badly!” Likewise, in the Hernandez case, Mr. Trump It came out on social media and that Mr. Hernandez was “treated extremely harshly and unfairly.”
The former Honduran president, his lawyer and his wife have lobbied for clemency. Trump allies Roger Stone and former Rep. Matt Gaetz as well It is said that it is pressure On behalf of Mr. Hernandez, but not for remuneration. It has become a push for lobbyists to get Mr. Trump’s attention in the hopes of getting a pardon Big business in Washington.
“Trump appears to have entered a period of particular enthusiasm” for pardons, says Walter Olson, a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.
However, critics argue that power is being abused in ways that pose a direct threat to democracy. When pardons are granted on the basis of personal sympathy or loyalty, as well as potential quid pro quo, it undermines the integrity of the system – and, ultimately, Americans’ faith in the rule of law.
Trump has been particularly prolific in issuing pardons for either “crimes against the democratic process or crimes involving public corruption, which are closely tied to the democratic process,” says Justin Levitt, a constitutional scholar at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
Professor Levitt says the health of the American system itself is at stake. “Democracy depends on knowing that politicians work for the public, not for themselves.”
Why does the power of pardon exist?
The power of presidential pardon is as old as the Republic. The Founding Fathers transferred this practice from the English monarchy, which was previously known as “Right to mercyIt was, and still is, limited to federal crimes, and in the early days of the United States, when there were few federal laws, it was rarely used. The first presidential pardon came in 1795, when George Washington granted clemency to figures involved in the so-called Whiskey Rebellion over taxes.
Throughout American history, clemency has sometimes been granted in an effort to promote national reconciliation. Examples include presidential pardons of former Confederates by Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson; the pardon of Richard Nixon by Gerald Ford in 1974; The amnesty issued by Jimmy Carter in 1977 for more than 200,000 evaders from the Vietnam War project.
During his first term, Mr. Trump issued about 237 pardons and commutations, This is a low number compared to other modern-day presidents. Less than a year into his second term, he issued more than 1,600 copies – the vast majority of them to the people Participation in the attack on the US Capitol building It is January 6, 2021.
The Jan. 6 pardon, issued on Inauguration Day this year and fulfilling an oft-repeated 2024 campaign promise, was not surprising. They set the tone for a management that rewards loyalty, and they remain controversial.
But recent acts of clemency have also made headlines, such as: One by oneMr. Trump has pardoned public figures, associates, technology and business leaders, celebrities, athletes and political activists.
In late November, the president commuted the seven-year prison sentence of private equity executive David Gentile, who was convicted of defrauding investors of $1.6 billion. Grant clemency It also stipulated that he would not have to pay the compensation It is set at $15.5 million.
In some cases, Trump’s reasoning may be no more complex than consoling a public figure embroiled in legal troubles. Take George Santos, the former Republican congressman from New York who was sentenced in April to 87 months in prison for fraud and identity theft, and who was released in October after the president commuted his sentence.
“George Santos was somewhat of a ‘rogue,’ but there are many rogues all over our country who did not have to spend seven years in prison,” Trump said. Books on social truth Explain the exchange.
However, ethics experts say these acts of clemency also send a signal to other elected officials who may be concerned about potential legal action against them.
The message is: “If you are involved in any corruption, it is possible for you to be pardoned during this administration — as long as you remain loyal to the president,” says Kedrick Payne, senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington.
Mr. Payne points out that Mr. Trump has long been a champion of equal opportunity in granting clemency. On the last day of his first term, the president commuted the 28-year prison sentence of Kwame Kilpatrick, the former Democratic mayor of Detroit, who was convicted of multiple criminal charges, including racketeering. Mr. Kilpatrick went on to campaign for Mr. Trump in the 2024 election.
Julia Demarie Nickinson/AP/File
Early in Trump’s second term, he commuted the sentence of former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who had served eight years of a 14-year prison sentence for corruption. Mr. Blagojevich has also become a staunch ally of Trump.
Mr. Trump has also cared for those who have remained loyal to him during periods of high risk. Last month, he pardoned key figures in the effort to challenge his 2020 election loss, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and attorney Sidney Powell. Late in his first term, Mr. Trump Pardoning his former assistants Steve Bannon, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, and his friend Mr. Stone.
Controversial pardons of former presidents
Trump is certainly not the only president to issue a controversial pardon.
Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter late in his term, after insisting he would not do so. In the final hours of his presidency, he preemptively pardoned five other family members, including his brothers, to protect them from possible future charges.
Bill Clinton also pardoned a family member on his way out of his house, his half-brother Roger Clinton, who was convicted of cocaine possession and drug trafficking. But President Clinton’s most high-profile pardon went to fugitive financier Marc Rich, whose ex-wife contributed to the Clinton Presidential Center and to then-first lady Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign.
Ultimately, there is little oversight of the pardon power. In theory, a president could be impeached for an improper pardon — although achieving impeachment and conviction in a currently divided Congress is nearly impossible. Or the US Constitution itself could be amended to eliminate the pardon power or add a check, such as requiring congressional approval. This is a longer order, though.
Mr. Olson, the Cato scholar, notes that the Founding Fathers had “some very specific concerns” about the potential for abuse in granting clemency, verging on absolute power. But they went ahead and included the pardon power in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. One question yet to be tested is whether presidents can pardon themselves.