Overview
- A White House official confirmed pardons for Vázquez Garced, banker Julio Martin Herrera-Velutini and former FBI agent Mark Rossini, nullifying sentencings that had been set for this month.
- The three pleaded guilty in August to misdemeanor campaign finance offenses after 2022 indictments that initially charged conspiracy, bribery and honest-services fraud.
- Prosecutors had alleged a scheme in which Herrera and consultant Rossini funded Vázquez Garced’s 2020 campaign in exchange for replacing Puerto Rico’s top banking regulator, with more than $300,000 routed to consultants.
- Officials defending the pardons cite claims that the probe began 10 days after Vázquez Garced endorsed Trump in 2020 and that there was no quid pro quo, while reporting notes the DOJ Public Integrity Section that brought the case was largely dismantled last year.
- The pardons came in a broader clemency wave that included businesswoman Adriana Camberos and executive Terren Peizer, with coverage also highlighting prior donations by Herrera’s daughter to a Trump-aligned super PAC.