Rep. Henry Cuellar apparently didn't follow the rules.
Last week, President Donald Trump, a Republican, caused a wave of unrest on Capitol Hill when he unexpectedly pardoned a conservative Texas Democrat and his wife who were indicted on corruption charges in 2024. Some observers have suggested there could be a party switch in the near future, which could improve Republicans' chances of holding on to their slim majority in the House. Instead, Rep. Cuellar immediately turned around and filed to run again in his southern border district… as a Democrat.
On Sunday, President Trump condemned Mr. Cuellar's “lack of LOYALTY” on social media, ending his long post with a hint of disappointment: “No Mr. Nice Guy next time!”
Why did we write this
Historians say presidential pardons have been used in a variety of ways, from serving the chief executive's family interests to unifying a torn nation after war. When power is abused, it can pose a direct threat to democracy, some critics of President Donald Trump say.
It is the latest example of how Mr. Trump has made the presidential pardon power a central feature of his second term, much more so than in his first. This increased use of pardons reflects Trump's broader and more assertive claims to executive power since his return to power. His comments when issuing pardons often reflect sympathy for supporters as well as Mr. Trump's own dissatisfaction with the justice system following four criminal charges against him, one of which resulted in a conviction (which he is appealing).
Critics see some of Trump's pardons as a “pay to play” mentality. The October pardon of billionaire Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was followed by expanded partnership between Binance and Trump family crypto firmGlobal financial freedom. The White House denies any connection. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, criticized the pardon as “corruption”.
Some pardons even seem contradict 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 transport cocaine into the United States. The pardon came as the US intensified its military campaign against drug trafficking, blowing up boats suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
Still, many of the pardons Mr. Trump has announced this year appear to be personal, coming after his own run-ins with the law. Between his first and second terms, Trump faced several major court cases. At times, he spoke about others' connections to the justice system in language similar to the way he described his own.
In his Truth Social post about the Cuellars on Sunday, Mr. Trump said he “felt very good fighting for a family that was being tormented by very sick and deranged people – they were treated SO BAD!” Similarly, in the Hernandez case, Mr. Trump stated on social networks that Mr. Hernandez was “treated very harshly and unfairly.”
The former Honduran president, his lawyer and his wife lobbied hard for a pardon. Trump allies Roger Stone and former Rep. Matt Gaetz also reportedly lobbied on behalf of Mr. Hernandez, although not for payment. Paying lobbyists to get Trump's attention in hopes of a pardon has become big business in Washington.
“Trump appears to have entered a period of particular enthusiasm” for pardons, said Walter Olson, a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.
Critics, however, believe 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.
Justin Levitt, a constitutional law scholar at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, says Mr. Trump has been particularly active in pardoning “crimes against the democratic process or crimes involving public corruption that are very closely tied to the democratic process.”
The health of the American system itself is at stake, says Professor Levitt. “Democracy depends on the understanding that politicians work for society, not for themselves.”
Why does the right of pardon exist?
The president's pardon power is as old as the republic itself. The Founding Fathers adopted this practice from the English monarchy, formerly known as “prerogative of mercy” It was and remains limited to federal crimes, and was rarely used in the early days of the United States when there were few federal laws. The first presidential pardon occurred in 1795, when George Washington pardoned figures involved in the so-called Whiskey Rebellion over taxes.
Throughout American history, pardons have sometimes been granted to promote national reconciliation. Examples include presidential pardons of former Confederates by Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson; Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon in 1974; and Jimmy Carter's 1977 pardon of more than 200,000 Vietnam War draft dodgers.
During his first term, Trump issued about 237 pardons and commutations. small number compared to other presidents of the modern era. In less than a year of his second term, he issued more than 1,600—the vast majority to people. participated in the attack on the US Capitol January 6, 2021
The Jan. 6 pardon, announced on Inauguration Day this year and fulfilling an oft-repeated 2024 campaign promise, came as no surprise. They set the tone for an administration that rewards loyalty and remain controversial.
But more recent acts of mercy have also grabbed headlines: one by oneTrump pardons public figures and their associates, technology and business leaders, celebrities and athletes, and political activists.
In late November, the president commuted the seven-year sentence of private equity executive David Gentile, who was convicted of defrauding investors out of $1.6 billion. Gift of Pardon it was also stipulated that he would not have to pay restitution, that was set at $15.5 million..
In some cases, Mr. Trump's rationale may be no more complex than sympathy for a colorful public figure embroiled in legal troubles. Take George Santos, a former GOP congressman from New York sentenced in April to 87 months in prison for wire fraud and identity theft, who was released in October after the president commuted his sentence.
“George Santos was something of a 'crook,' but there are many crooks all over our country who are not forced to serve seven years in prison,” Mr. Trump. posted in Truth Social explanation of commutation.
However, ethics experts say these acts of mercy also send a message to other elected officials who may be concerned about possible lawsuits against them.
The idea is: “If you engage in any kind of corruption, you can be pardoned under the current administration—as long as you remain loyal to the president,” says Kedric Payne, senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington.
Mr. Payne notes that Mr. Trump has long proposed equal opportunity pardons. On the final day of his first term, the president commuted the 28-year sentence of Kwame Kilpatrick, the former Democratic mayor of Detroit who was convicted of multiple felonies, including extortion. Mr. Kilpatrick continued to campaign for Mr. Trump in the 2024 election.
Julia Demarie Nihinson/AP/File
At the start of Trump's second term, he commuted the sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, who had served eight years of a 14-year sentence for corruption. Mr Blagojevich has also become a strong Trump ally.
Mr. Trump also took care of those who remained loyal to him during times of high stakes. Last month, he pardoned key figures as he sought to overturn his 2020 election defeat, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Sidney Powell. At the end of his first term, Trump former assistants pardoned Steve Bannon, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn and his friend Mr. Stone.
Controversial pardons by past presidents
Of course, Mr. Trump is not the only recent president to issue controversial pardons.
Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter at the end of his term, insisting he would not do so. And in the final hours of his presidency, he preemptively pardoned five other family members, including his brothers, shielding them from possible future charges.
Bill Clinton also pardoned an exiled family member, Roger Clinton's half-brother, who was convicted of cocaine possession and drug trafficking. But President Clinton's most infamous pardon went to fugitive financier Marc Rich, whose ex-wife contributed to the Clinton Presidential Center and then-First Lady Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign.
Ultimately, the power to pardon is largely unchecked. In theory, a president could be held accountable for issuing improper pardons, although impeachment and conviction are virtually impossible in the current divided Congress. Or the U.S. Constitution itself could be amended to eliminate the pardon power or add a test, such as requiring congressional approval. Although this is an even more difficult task.
Mr. Olson, the Cato scholar, notes that the Founding Fathers had “certain concerns” about the potential for abuse in granting pardons as it approached absolute power. But they went further and included the pardon power in Section 2 of Article II of the Constitution. One question that remains untested is whether presidents can pardon themselves.
