Speculation on Capitol Hill is building that Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who is currently facing federal corruption charges, might consider switching parties if granted a presidential pardon. The potential shift has set political tongues wagging, fueled by Cuellar’s complicated legal battle and reactions from both sides of the aisle.
Who’s ready for some more tea on Capitol Hill?
I have some interesting news coming your way tomorrow…
It’s alleged someone is going to receive a pardon and flip from blue to red in the House of Representatives.
Now I fully believe that this person has only gotten indicted because of his wide open criticism of the current admin and his opposition to… https://t.co/WjCOGNNbca— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) December 26, 2024
Cuellar, a conservative Democrat, was indicted in May following a two-year investigation by the Department of Justice. The probe, linked to an ongoing corruption case, began after FBI agents raided his South Texas home and campaign office. While initial details were sparse, reports alleged that Cuellar cultivated relationships with Azerbaijani and Mexican business leaders, leveraging his congressional position to advance their interests in U.S. policy.
The indictment, if accurate, presents a damning picture. Between 2014 and 2021, Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, allegedly accepted $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: an Azerbaijani state-owned oil and gas company and a Mexico City-based bank. Federal prosecutors claim these payments were funneled through bogus consulting contracts to shell companies under Imelda Cuellar’s name, with little to no actual work performed.
In exchange, Cuellar allegedly influenced U.S. foreign policy to benefit Azerbaijan and supported legislative activities favorable to the Mexican bank. The charges against the Cuellars are sweeping, with potential penalties stacking up as follows:
Two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery and acting as an unregistered foreign agent (up to 5 years each).
Two counts of bribery of a federal official (up to 15 years each).
Two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud (up to 20 years each).
Two counts of violating laws against unregistered foreign agents (up to two years each).
One count of conspiracy to commit money laundering (up to 20 years).
Five counts of money laundering (up to 20 years each).
Both Henry and Imelda Cuellar have pleaded not guilty, with the congressman insisting his actions were focused on serving South Texans. Despite the charges, Cuellar secured an 11th term in November, showcasing his political resilience among his constituents.
President-elect Donald Trump has eagerly weighed in on the case. Writing on Truth Social shortly after the indictment, Trump accused the Biden administration of targeting Cuellar and his wife for his conservative stance on border policy.
“Biden just indicted Henry Cuellar because the respected Democrat Congressman wouldn’t play Crooked Joe’s open border game. He was for Border Control, so they said, ‘Let’s use the FBI and DOJ to take him out!’” Trump wrote, calling the administration “D.C. Thugs” and labeling President Biden a “threat to democracy.”
The drama surrounding Cuellar’s case, coupled with rumors of a potential party switch, has heightened tensions in Washington. Inside the Beltway, all eyes are on the congressman to see whether he will stay the course or make a stunning shift in a historically narrowly divided Congress.
Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News
By Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America - Anna Paulina Luna, CC BY-SA 2.0,
On Monday, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) announced she is resigning from the House Freedom Caucus.
The focus of her anger reportedly stems from a brief incident from earlier this month when a group of House conservatives held up a chamber-wide vote on unrelated legislation to press GOP leaders to kill Luna’s measure – known as a “discharge petition.”
A discharge petition allows lawmakers to force a bill onto the House floor, despite objections from leadership, provided the mechanism gets signatures from a majority of the chamber.
“I have consistently supported each of you, even in moments of disagreement, honoring the mutual respect that has guided our caucus,” Luna wrote in a letter to colleagues. “That respect, however, was shattered last week.”
“Acting within the House conference rules – rules we all agreed to – I sought to bring a vote to the floor on a measure that would allow new mothers in Congress (fewer than 14 in our nation’s history) and fathers, if they choose, to vote by proxy,” Luna continued.
“This was a modest, family-centered proposal. Yet, a small group among us threatened the Speaker, vowing to halt floor proceedings indefinitely – regardless of the legislation at stake, including President Trump’s agenda – unless he altered the rules to block my discharge petition.”
“I cannot remain part of a caucus where a select few operate outside its guidelines, misuse its name, broker backroom deals that undermine its core values and where the lines of compromise and transaction are blurred, disparage me to the press, and encourage misrepresentation of me to the American people,” Luna wrote.
She will be the first House Freedom Caucus member to leave the group, which does not advertise its membership, in the 119th Congress.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Marjorie Taylor Greene -Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, via Wikimedia Commons
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer is expected to establish a subcommittee that will work with the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and will select Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene as its director.
A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., will chair the Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee, which will focus on rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.
The subcommittee is expected to investigate wasteful spending, examine ways to reorganize federal agencies to improve efficiency and identify solutions to eliminate bureaucratic red tape.
A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Comer had a meeting with Ramaswamy and his incoming DOGE team. Ramaswamy confirmed the meeting with Comer and Greene to Fox News Digital.
“A key step to driving greater efficiency in government is exposing the problem to the public—we are grateful that the House Oversight Committee has created a subcommittee to focus on this work,” a spokesperson for Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital. “We look forward to working together.”
Comer told Fox News Digital that the new Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency “will align with the Trump administration’s priorities to eliminate government waste, streamline the federal government’s operations and cut red tape that’s stifling jobs and increasing costs for the American people.”
“I look forward to working with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to deliver on these goals to Make America Great Again,” Comer said.
Greene told Fox News Digital that the House Oversight Committee “is the perfect place to support the DOGE mission.”
“I’m excited to chair this new subcommittee designed to work hand in hand with President Trump, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and the entire DOGE team,” Greene said. “We will identify and investigate the waste, corruption and absolutely useless parts of our federal government.”
Greene said the subcommittee will provide “transparency and truth to the American people through hearings.”
“No topic will be off the table,” she said. “The goal of DOGE is to bring accountability and GUT useless government agencies.”
Greene said she expects the subcommittee’s work “will expose people who need to be fired.”
“The bureaucrats who don’t do their job, fail audits like in the Pentagon and don’t know where billions of dollars are going, will be getting a pink slip,” Greene said. “Chairman Comer and I are focused on delivering the mandate voters sent on Nov. 5th, and I can’t wait to get to work.”
Earlier this month, Trump tapped Musk and Ramaswamy to lead DOGE.
Trump said last week he hopes DOGE will become the “Manhattan Project of our time,” in reference to J. Robert Oppenheimer’s secretive atom bomb endeavor during World War II.
Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) filed a lawsuit against the House Ethics Committee in a last-minute attempt to block the panel from releasing its report on the Florida Republican.
Gaetz, who resigned from Congress last month, filed the lawsuit as severaloutlets reported on leaked drafts of the Ethics Committee’s report, which CNN and CBS say found “substantial evidence” that the ex-congressman violated House rules or Florida state laws
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., asks a judge to issue an emergency order blocking the report’s release.
Gaetz claims the committee is acting beyond its authority because it has no jurisdiction over him now that he has resigned from Congress. Gaetz’s attorneys said the report contains “untruthful and defamatory information” that would “significantly damage” his reputation.
“The Committee’s apparent intention to release its report after explicitly acknowledging it lacks jurisdiction over former members, its failure to follow constitutional notions of due process, and failure to adhere to its own procedural rules and precedent represents an unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections,” Gaetz’s attorneys wrote.
The suit names the Ethics Committee and its chair, Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.), as defendants.
“These claims would be destroyed in court — which is why they were never made in any court against me,” Gaetz told The Hill on Monday.
The Ethics Committee continued investigating Gaetz after the DOJ declined to charge the Florida Republican, probing allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, accepting improper gifts, dispensing special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship and seeking to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.
In a lengthy statement posted on X last week, after news broke that the panel reversed course and voted to release its report into Gaetz, the ex-congressman defended his conduct, saying it was “embarrassing, though not criminal.”
The panel is expected to publicly release the report as early as Monday.
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
An outgoing Republican Congressman signaled he could mount a future bid for the White House.
“I got asked the other day, ‘You say you’re interested in being an executive — is that governor or president?’ I go, ‘Yes,’” Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon told NBC News in an interview last week in his office.
“If there’s an opportunity, and I can make a difference, a unique difference, I would like to keep serving. I just don’t want to do two-year elections,” he continued in the interview, which was published on Sunday.
Bacon announced last week he would not seek reelection in the vulnerable swing district, which includes Omaha and rural areas of Nebraska. In 2024, Bacon was one of three Republicans elected in districts that voted for former Vice President Harris over President Trump.
Bacon, a five-term congressman and retired Air Force brigadier general, has represented the 2nd District since 2017. Known for his relatively moderate approach and clashes with President Donald Trump, Bacon has occasionally broke with his party on major issues. He voted to certify the 2020 election and co-sponsored bipartisan legislation like the “Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act” with Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), aimed at improving the accuracy of hate crime reporting.
Bacon acknowledged it would be difficult to win a White House bid, particularly as a House member and as a Republican who still embraces Reaganism and a hawkish view of foreign policy.
“I don’t think it would be very easily done,” he said. “All I know is I have a heart to serve our country, and I have a vision.”
Bacon suggested he’d be interested in serving as Defense Secretary “if God opens up that door,” but acknowledged his doubt that a Republican president would tap him for the post.
Bacon also said that he would not run for governor against Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R), who was elected in 2023 and who, NBC News reported, is a “close friend” of Bacon’s.
Bacon’s exit opens one of the most competitive House seats in the country. The 2nd District — which includes Omaha and parts of Douglas, Sarpy, and Saunders counties — has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+3. Once a Republican stronghold, the district has been trending leftward thanks to shifting demographics and political realignment, particularly during the Trump era. (RELATED: Rep. Don Bacon To Retire, Opening Key Battleground In Omaha’s 2nd District)
Before Trump, the GOP had a lock on the district. George W. Bush carried it handily in 2000 and 2004. Even Mitt Romney won it by 7 points in 2012. But the tide began to shift in 2008, when Barack Obama flipped the seat — marking the first Democratic presidential win there since 1964.
Trump won it narrowly in 2016, but Joe Biden carried the district by about 6 points in 2020, and Democrats held it again in 2024. These wins came despite Nebraska remaining solidly red overall.
Multiple House Republicans are demanding the Justice Department prosecute elected officials and left-wing activist groups allegedly attempting to undermine the administration’s deportation efforts.
GOP Reps. Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Andy Harris of Maryland, Eric Burlison of Missouri and Pete Sessions of Texas sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi Tuesday, exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“We write today to applaud your prosecution of Governor Kathy Hochul and New York Attorney General Letitia James and to respectfully request that you continue prosecuting individuals, organizations and elected officials who aid and abet illegal aliens in evading Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers,” the Republican lawmakers wrote. “Assisting aliens in avoiding deportation is illegal; therefore, we urge you to continue upholding the integrity of the American system.”
“Far-left politicians and nongovernmental organizations [NGOs] are flouting the law under the assumption that it will not be enforced. We ask that you demonstrate that such violations will not be tolerated.”
The letter alleges that left-wing organizations such as Code Pink, Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network and the Immigration Defense Project are actively providing resources to illegal migrants to evade detection by ICE.
The GOP congressmen also urged Bondi to prosecute elected officials helping illegal migrants evade detection by ICE.
Democrat New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy appeared to suggest that he was harboring an illegal migrant on his property on Feb. 3, leading border czar Tom Homan vowing to prosecute the elected official for appearing to violate federal law.
“And good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her,” the Democrat then added, speaking at an open discussion at Montclair State University.
Homan warned New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that he is working with the DOJ to determine whether the left-wing firebrand violated federal law by hosting a virtual webinar advising illegal migrants on how to handle encounters with ICE on Jan. 11.
“Let’s hope she’s not educating the next person who gets out and murders a young college student in Georgia,” Homan said on Fox News on Feb. 16. “These are bad people we’re looking for. So she can call it education all she wants, but we all know it’s about evading law enforcement. These people have been ordered removed. The people we’re looking for now have final orders. They’re criminals. They’re in the country illegally.”
Bondi filed a lawsuit against Hochul and James on Feb. 12, citing a New York state law allowing immigrants to obtain a driver’s license regardless of legal status. The Trump administration hit Chicago and the state of Illinois with lawsuits on Feb. 6 over the city and state’s sanctuary laws, which restrict cooperation between local officials and ICE.
“This is a new DOJ,” Bondi said during a press conference announcing the Justice Department’s lawsuit against the state of New York. “We are taking steps to protect Americans, American citizens and angel moms.”
“New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops today,” Bondi added. “We sued Illinois. New York did not listen. Now you’re next.”
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are facing an internal divide over a sensitive and politically risky question: whether Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein, should be considered for a presidential pardon in exchange for cooperation with investigators.
The discussion has largely taken place behind closed doors, but it reflects a broader tension between uncovering new information and maintaining public confidence in the justice system.
Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) acknowledged the split, noting that some Republicans believe Maxwell could provide valuable testimony about Epstein’s network if offered clemency. Still, Comer made clear he is not among them.
He warned that a pardon “looks bad” politically and ethically
He emphasized Maxwell’s central role in the underlying crimes
He argued that granting leniency could undermine trust in the investigation
Comer summed up his position bluntly, describing Maxwell as one of the most culpable figures in the case.
Democrats Firmly Opposed
Democrats on the committee are unified in rejecting any potential deal.
Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) strongly criticized the idea, arguing that offering clemency to Maxwell would be offensive to victims and damaging to the integrity of the investigation.
Key concerns raised by Democrats include:
The impact on survivors of Epstein’s abuse
The credibility of any testimony obtained through a pardon
The risk of public perception shifting toward a “cover-up”
Garcia warned that even considering such an arrangement could erode confidence in the process and send the wrong signal about accountability.
Maxwell’s Leverage and Conditions
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Epstein’s trafficking operation. So far, she has declined to cooperate with congressional investigators under existing conditions.
Her legal team, however, has signaled a willingness to engage if circumstances change.
According to her attorney:
Maxwell would be willing to testify “fully and honestly”
Any cooperation would be contingent on clemency
She is positioned as a key source of information about Epstein’s network
Her attorney has also claimed that Maxwell could shed light on the involvement, or lack thereof, of high-profile figures, including former presidents. Those assertions have not eased skepticism among lawmakers.
The Political and Legal Stakes
President Donald Trump has not ruled out the possibility of granting clemency, leaving the issue open and politically charged.
The debate highlights a difficult tradeoff:
Potential benefit: New details about Epstein’s network and associates
Potential cost: Perceived erosion of justice and accountability
For many lawmakers, the question is not just what Maxwell might reveal, but whether the price of that information is too high.
Why This Matters
At its core, the disagreement reflects a broader challenge facing investigators and policymakers:
How far should the government go to obtain critical information?
Can justice and transparency be balanced in a case with this level of public scrutiny?
There is no clear consensus, and the path forward remains uncertain.
What are your thoughts? Should a pardon be considered if it leads to new information about Epstein’s network? Share your perspective in the comments below.
Justice Department attorneys are pressuring federal judges to reject petitions from at least two Jan. 6 defendants who are requesting that they be allowed to return to the nation’s capital for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Cindy Young, convicted of four misdemeanors for her involvement in the riot at the Capitol, and Russell Taylor, who pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy charge, both petitioned the courts to allow them to return to Washington, D.C., despite provisions of their sentences requiring them to stay away.
“Contrary to Young’s self designation that she ‘poses no threat of danger to the community,’ Young presents a danger to the D.C. community, including the very law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on January 6, 2021,” U.S. attorneys said in response to Young’s petition. The federal attorneys cited calls from Young “for retribution against those involved in January 6 prosecutions” and argued that she has failed “to recognize the seriousness of her actions.”
A request from Taylor, who was invited to attend the inauguration by members of Utah’s congressional delegation, is also being challenged by attorneys at the Department of Justice who argue that the serious nature of his crimes should preclude him from being able to “return to the scene of the crime.”
“He is asking for the Court to bless his desire to return to the scene of the crime, and the Court should not look past his criminal conduct the last time he was on Capitol grounds,” the U.S. attorneys wrote in a filing to U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth. The attorneys added in their court filing that, while they had granted previous travel requests to other defendants involved in the Capitol siege, those approvals were to support people’s continued employment, and the requests did not involve travel to the nation’s capital.
There remains uncertainty around whether Trump will pardon any, some, or all of those defendants who were convicted of crimes as a result of their involvement in the U.S. Capitol siege that occurred in 2021.
Trump has said at times that pardons will be reserved for those who remained peaceful on that fateful day; however, at other points he has suggested a blanket pardon for all those who were convicted.
Ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) will not rejoin Congress after resigning from the current Congress after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to be attorney general.
Gaetz was reelected to the next Congress and many speculated he may rescind his resignation after dropping his bid to become attorney general on Thursday.
CNN’s Kristen Holmes broke the news on-air.
“Yeah, there had been a lot of speculation as to what exactly Matt Gaetz was going to do. Was there some kind of loophole in the sense that he had just been reelected? Would he go back to Congress? He is now saying in an interview with Charlie Kirk that he does not intend to go back,” Holmes reported, adding:
That he’s going to continue trying to do things for Donald Trump, but not in the capacity of a congressman. This obviously comes as we know that there are still questions about whether or not that ethics report is going to be released. But in this interview, he also talked about what happened when some of those meetings up on Capitol Hill, he downplayed the any kind of impact that the ethics report had, but instead said that while he had some momentum with senators, he felt he had to explain himself quite a bit.
Holmes then played a clip from the Kirk interview, in which Gaetz said “And again, while our discussions were going well, I found myself having to do two jobs at one time.”
“Charlie, And you got a front-row seat to this. I had a full-time job explaining to senators that maybe a tweet I sent about them was rash and not reflective of how I would serve as attorney general. And at the same time, I was having to build out the Department of Justice with the right human talent, the right policy infrastructure. And Pam Bondi’s confirmation won’t have some of the sharp edges that I would have,” Gaetz added of Trump’s replacement for Gaetz as AG.
A Washington, D.C.-based server has been fired after proudly saying in an interview that she planned to refuse service to Trump officials.
The server was previously employed by Beuchert’s Saloon on Capitol Hill. She took part in a report by Washingtonian magazine about how the service industry would respond to President-elect Donald Trump’s team if they patronized her place of employment.
Most individuals who were interviewed remained anonymous, but Suzannah Van Rooy provided her real name.
“I personally would refuse to serve any person in office who I know of as being a sex trafficker or trying to deport millions of people,” the server told the outlet, as The Daily Wire previously reported. “It’s not, ‘Oh, we hate Republicans.’ It’s that this person has moral convictions that are strongly opposed to mine, and I don’t feel comfortable serving them.”
“People were a lot more motivated the first time around to do those kinds of shows of passion. This time around, there is kind of a sense of defeat and acceptance,” Van Rooy added. “But I hope that people still do stand up to this administration and tell them their thoughts on their misbehavior.”
Beuchert’s Saloon denounced Van Rooy’s comments and confirmed she was no longer employed there, per Fox News Digital. The neighborhood restaurant and bar called her statements “reprehensible” and “unforgivable.”
“Recent comments made by a member of staff who had no authority to speak on behalf of our entire restaurant have been, quite rightly, flagged as inappropriate, hostile, intolerant, and unacceptable. This staff member does NOT speak for us as a restaurant,” Beuchert’s Saloon said in a statement.
Beuchert’s saloon provided a follow-up after the backlash from the employee’s comments.
“Not only do Ms. Van Rooy’s comments clearly violate our zero-tolerance policy on discrimination, but her decision to sign into our social media accounts in the middle of the night to post her own rhetoric in wildly offensive responses to comments is a further breach of conduct and protocol. She has no authority to speak on our behalf, and her comments do not reflect the positions of over twenty other people who make up our staff,” the statement said.
“For these reasons as well as the sheer dismay and disgust we feel at her unforgivable behavior, Ms. Van Rooy has been dismissed immediately. Our staff and families (many of whom are personally offended by Ms. Van Rooy’s comments about them) are still reeling from what Ms. Van Rooy said and did, and we as a restaurant are simply horrified to be associated with base prejudice.”
