WATCH: Dem lawmaker thanks Trump for pardon, says it came as a surprise amid re-election bid

Dem lawmaker charged with bribery thanks Trump for pardon

Rep. Henry Cuellar said he didn't know that the White House would wipe his slate clean ahead of announcement.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening that his pardon — and its timing — came as a surprise.

"I got a text from a media [member, who] says, ‘Do you wanna talk about this pardon?’ And I thought they were talking about the president of Honduras," Cuellar said, referring to a separate pardon President Donald Trump announced earlier this week.

"And they said, 'No, no, no — not the president of Honduras. Your pardon.’ So, I didn't know," Cuellar said.

DEM CONGRESSMAN PARDONED BY TRUMP ACCUSES BIDEN-ERA DOJ OF WEAPONIZING INDICTMENT

Rep. Henry Cuellar in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, June 4, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The pardon came as Cuellar filed to run for re-election on Wednesday, stating his intent to run as a Democrat.

In May 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Cuellar with bribery and acting as a foreign agent for having allegedly accepted $600,000 from the Azerbaijan government in return for the congressman’s assistance in Washington.

"Congressman Cuellar allegedly accepted approximately $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: an oil and gas company wholly owned and controlled by the Government of Azerbaijan, and a bank headquartered in Mexico City," the DOJ said in a press release at the time.

"In exchange for the bribes paid by the Azerbaijani oil and gas company, Congressman Cuellar allegedly agreed to use his office to influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan," the DOJ added.

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Rep. Henry Cuellar arrives for a meeting of House Democrats on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 19, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press)

Cuellar has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The embattled congressman has a track record of voting against the majority of his party. Since the beginning of the 119th Congress, Cuellar has broken with the prevailing Democrat consensus 62 times — accounting for 21.3% of all the chamber’s considerations. Except for Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., no one in the chamber has a higher rate of dissension with their own party.

Cuellar, who has faced questions about whether he intends to change parties, said the timing of his filing — and its overlap with his pardon — was purely linked by happenstance.

"The timing was just a coincidence," Cuellar said. "I had just been busy watching the UT game versus [Texas] A&M."

TRUMP ANNOUNCES PARDON FOR DEMOCRATIC REP HENRY CUELLAR

Rep. Henry Cuellar spoke with Fox News Digital along the Rio Grande during a bipartisan congressional delegation to the border. (Elizabeth Elkind/Fox News)

Cuellar did not address why he believed he had received a pardon.

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"I want to thank the president, President Donald Trump, for his actions. Number two, I certainly want to thank God. It was a very difficult time. And the third thing is: Back to work," Cuellar said.

Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.