Trump to Pardon Ex-Puerto Rico Gov. in Corruption Case

President Donald Trump plans to issue pardons to former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced and two co-defendants in a federal corruption case tied to her 2020 gubernatorial campaign, according to a White House official.

The pardons, expected to be announced soon, come ahead of Vázquez's scheduled sentencing later this month. Prosecutors had sought a one-year prison term for her after she pleaded guilty last August to a lesser charge of violating campaign finance laws by accepting an illegal foreign donation. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the case as an example of political prosecution and noted that the investigation began just 10 days after Vázquez endorsed Trump's reelection bid in 2020.

Vázquez, an attorney and member of Puerto Rico's pro-statehood New Progressive Party, served as governor from 2019 to 2021. She became the territory's first former governor to plead guilty to a federal crime. The case stemmed from allegations that Vázquez accepted more than $300,000 in campaign contributions from Julio Martín Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan-Italian banker and founder of Britannia Financial Group, and Mark Rossini, a former FBI agent who...