President Trump is preparing to issue another high profile pardon, and once again it is aimed squarely at what many Americans recognize as a politically weaponized justice system. According to a new report from Fox News, President Trump is set to pardon former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced, who was indicted by the Biden Justice Department on bribery charges stemming from her 2020 campaign.
BREAKING: President Trump is pardoning Puerto Rico's former governor Wanda Vázquez, sources say. https://t.co/bu7Rtpv6TE
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) January 16, 2026
White House insiders told Fox News that the decision is rooted in what the administration views as a textbook case of political prosecution. Vázquez was charged in August of 2022, but the investigation itself reportedly began just ten days after she endorsed President Trump during the 2020 election. That timeline alone raises eyebrows, especially given how aggressively Biden era prosecutors have pursued Trump allies while slow walking or ignoring cases involving Democrats.
According to the White House official cited in the report, there was never any evidence of a quid pro quo. The alleged conduct involved discussions between Vázquez and a potential donor about policy positions, not exchanging official action for personal gain. That distinction matters, no matter how much political prosecutors wish it did not. The same official said President Trump will also pardon Vázquez’s co defendants, including Julio Martin Herrera Velutini and Mark Rossini, a former FBI agent.
The case grew even murkier once plea negotiations began. As detailed by Bloomberg Law, federal prosecutors accused Vázquez’s legal team of fabricating claims about why the Justice Department agreed to a reduced plea deal. Yet prosecutors did not deny that political intervention played a role in downgrading the charges. Instead, they argued the settlement aligned with DOJ “enforcement priorities” and conserved resources, a familiar excuse when cases start to fall apart under scrutiny.
Vázquez’s attorneys told a different story. They said prosecutors pressed forward despite weak evidence and only backed off after being confronted with material that undermined the government’s conspiracy theory. According to the defense, when DOJ leadership asked why the indictment was pursued in the first place, the response was blunt. “We took our chances.” That is not justice, that is gambling with someone’s life for political optics.
President Trump has made it clear that he sees this pattern across the federal system. From prosecutors targeting Republicans to selective enforcement that shields Democrats, the imbalance has been impossible to ignore. Just last year, Trump pardoned Rep. Henry Cuellar, another figure charged under circumstances many viewed as politically driven. That pardon later irritated Trump after Cuellar announced another congressional run, but it did not change the underlying principle.
The Vázquez pardon fits a broader theme of President Trump’s second term, confronting institutional abuse and calling out the rot inside federal law enforcement. Whether the media likes it or not, many Americans see these cases not as corruption cleanups, but as warnings to anyone who dares align with Trump. This pardon sends a clear message. Political prosecutions will not go unanswered.
When will Merick garland be prosecuted, a real dirty bastard.