This was unexpected.
President Donald Trump is preparing to issue a pardon to former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced, along with others connected to a long-running federal case, according to reporting by Fox News.
Administration officials familiar with the decision say the pardon reflects President Trump’s continued concerns about what he has described as politically motivated prosecutions. Vázquez was charged in August 2022 over allegations tied to fundraising activity during her 2020 gubernatorial campaign. Supporters of the pardon argue that prosecutors failed to establish evidence of a direct exchange of official actions for campaign support.
A White House official told Fox News that the pardon materials emphasize the absence of a proven quid-pro-quo arrangement. The official added that the investigation began shortly after Vázquez publicly endorsed Trump during the 2020 election, a timeline that raised questions among administration officials about fairness and selective enforcement.
The pardon is also expected to cover Vázquez’s co-defendants, including banker Julio Herrera Velutini and Mark Rossini, a former FBI agent.
According to White House sources, Vázquez has consistently maintained that conversations cited by prosecutors involved general policy discussions with a potential donor rather than any promise of official action. Officials also claimed the investigation extended beyond her campaign and included activity related to Trump’s own political operation. They compared the case to that of Alexander Sittenfeld, a former Ohio official who received a presidential pardon in May 2025.
Not everyone welcomed the announcement. Puerto Rico’s congressional delegate Pablo José Hernández criticized the decision, arguing in a statement that the pardon damages confidence in government accountability and public ethics.
Federal charges against Vázquez were filed in 2022 while she was serving as governor. At the time, Associated Press reported that prosecutors alleged the conduct occurred between late 2019 and mid-2020. Vázquez strongly denied the accusations, publicly stating that she had committed no crime and describing the case as deeply unjust.
Earlier reporting said Herrera’s bank had come under review by Puerto Rico’s financial regulators over alleged reporting issues. Prosecutors claimed campaign support was offered in exchange for changes in regulatory leadership, including the appointment of a former consultant. Authorities also alleged that more than $300,000 was spent on political consulting services tied to the campaign. Defense attorneys have disputed those claims.
The pardon is part of a broader pattern during Trump’s second term, which has included clemency for January 6 defendants and several high-profile figures from politics, business, and entertainment. Supporters view the actions as a constitutional check on what they see as overreach by federal prosecutors, while critics argue the decisions risk weakening trust in the justice system.
For Trump’s allies, the Vázquez pardon reinforces his long-standing position that the justice system has been weaponized for political purposes—and that presidential authority can be used to correct what supporters believe are serious imbalances in federal enforcement.
