Trump Issues Wave of Pardons Including Wanda Vázquez, Her Co‑Defendants and Donor’s Father in Campaign‑Finance Case
President Trump issued a broad round of clemency grants that pardoned former Puerto Rico governor Wanda Vázquez Garced and her co‑defendants — banker Julio Martín Herrera‑Velutini and ex‑FBI agent Mark Rossini — who had pleaded guilty in a campaign‑finance case accusing them of funneling more than $300,000 to influence a banking regulator. The wave, which included roughly 13 pardons and 8 commutations and other controversial recipients such as Adriana Camberos and former Ontrak CEO Terren Peizer, prompted White House claims the prosecutions were “political” while critics note many grants were pushed by Trump allies and involved donors with multimillion‑dollar ties to pro‑Trump groups.
📌 Key Facts
- President Trump issued a wave of clemency actions — reported as 13 pardons and 8 commutations on Thursday plus an additional pardon Friday — that included former Puerto Rico governor Wanda Vázquez, banker Julio Martín Herrera Velutini and ex‑FBI agent Mark Rossini.
- Herrera, Vázquez and Rossini had pleaded guilty in August 2025 to misdemeanor campaign‑finance charges in the Puerto Rico political‑corruption case and were due to be sentenced in January 2026; Vázquez had been arrested in August 2022 after initially pleading not guilty.
- Federal prosecutors alleged Herrera and Rossini provided at least $300,000 in campaign support in exchange for Vázquez firing a bank regulator and installing a consultant linked to Herrera.
- Vázquez served briefly as Puerto Rico governor beginning in August 2019 and later endorsed Trump’s 2020 reelection; the White House has characterized the prosecutions as political — saying the investigation began 10 days after her endorsement, denying any quid pro quo, likening her case to Alexander Sittenfeld’s 2025 pardon, and saying clemencies corrected 'excessive sentences' or politically motivated prosecutions.
- News outlets reported that many of the latest clemency grants were not previously disclosed and were advanced by lawyers and figures with close ties to Trump; reporters noted the moves fit a broader pattern as the administration has dismantled pardon‑process guardrails, including firing the Justice Department’s pardon attorney.
- Julio Herrera Velutini’s daughter, Isabela Herrera, donated $2.5 million to the pro‑Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. in late 2024 and another $1 million in July 2025; Herrera’s lawyer, Christopher Kise, is identified as a Trump legal ally.
- Trump also pardoned Adriana Camberos — whose 2017 conviction for selling counterfeit 5‑Hour Energy was commuted in 2021 and who was convicted again in 2024 in an unrelated fraud scheme with her brother — and pardoned former Ontrak CEO Terren Peizer, who had been convicted of insider trading and fined $5.25 million.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2025, 85% of the people granted pardons or clemency by President Donald Trump were White, while 8% were Black and 5% were Latino.
85% of people given federal pardons or clemency this year are white, House lawmakers' report says — NBC News
76.2% of white-collar crimes in the USA are committed by White individuals, according to FBI data.
45 Fascinating White-Collar Crime Statistics for 2025 — Embroker
In federal sentencing, Black male offenders received sentences that were 13.1% longer than White male offenders in fiscal year 2023, after controlling for offense and offender characteristics.
2023 Demographic Differences in Federal Sentencing — United States Sentencing Commission
📰 Source Timeline (6)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
January 17, 2026
1:41 AM
Trump issues a flurry of pardons, including for a woman whose sentence he commuted in his first term
New information:
- Confirms that Wanda Vázquez, banker Julio Herrera Velutini and former FBI agent Mark Rossini were among 13 pardons and 8 commutations Trump issued Thursday, plus an additional pardon Friday.
- Details that Vázquez’s co‑defendant Julio Herrera Velutini’s daughter, Isabela Herrera, gave $2.5 million to Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC in 2024 and another $1 million in 2025.
- Reveals Trump pardoned Adriana Camberos, whose sentence he had commuted in 2021, even after she was convicted again in 2024 for a separate wholesale‑groceries diversion scheme with her brother, Andres.
- Adds that Trump also pardoned former Ontrak CEO Terren Peizer, convicted of insider trading to avoid more than $12.5 million in losses and fined $5.25 million.
- Reports that the latest clemencies continue a pattern of Trump targeting cases once touted by federal prosecutors and come as his administration dismantles pardon‑process guardrails, including firing DOJ’s pardon attorney.
January 16, 2026
7:42 PM
Trump to pardon former governor of Puerto Rico in corruption case
New information:
- Confirms that President Trump will pardon former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced for a corruption charge tied to her 2020 campaign.
- Specifically names co‑defendants Mark Rossini (ex‑FBI agent turned consultant) and bank owner Julio Martín Herrera‑Velutini as also being pardoned in the same case.
- Details that federal prosecutors alleged more than $300,000 in campaign contributions from Rossini and Herrera in exchange for Vázquez appointing a new banking regulator acceptable to Herrera.
- States that Vázquez was arrested in August 2022 on conspiracy, bribery and wire‑fraud charges, initially pleaded not guilty, then changed her plea to guilty on a lesser charge in August 2025.
- Notes Vázquez’s brief tenure as governor (from August 2019) and that she later endorsed Trump’s 2020 reelection bid, situating the pardon in her political relationship with him.
6:37 PM
Mexico’s president defends her nation’s antidrug efforts following U.S. criticism.
New information:
- Confirms that President Trump has now formally pardoned Julio Herrera Velutini, former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez, and ex‑FBI agent Mark Rossini, all of whom pleaded guilty in August to misdemeanor campaign‑finance charges.
- Reveals that Herrera’s daughter, Isabela Herrera, gave $2.5 million to the pro‑Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. in late 2024 while he was facing felony charges, and another $1 million in July 2025 after his plea deal, and that his lawyer Christopher Kise is a Trump legal ally.
- Details that Adriana Camberos, convicted in 2017 in a counterfeit 5‑Hour Energy scheme and granted a Trump commutation in 2021, was convicted again in 2024 in an unrelated fraud and has now been pardoned a second time.
- Reports that many of the latest clemency grants were not previously public and were backed by lawyers and figures with close Trump ties, while a White House official anonymously denied that political donations influenced the decisions and cast the cases as excessive or politically motivated prosecutions.
5:59 PM
Trump Sets Fraudster Free From Prison for a Second Time
New information:
- Details of Adriana Camberos’ original 2017 conviction for selling millions of counterfeit bottles of 5‑Hour Energy and the fact that her first clemency from Trump in 2021 was a commutation.
- Confirmation that Camberos was convicted again in 2024 in an unrelated fraud case and that Trump has now pardoned her a second time, effectively freeing her from that later sentence as well.
- Reporting that most of the latest pardons had not been previously disclosed and were pushed by lawyers and allies closely tied to Trump’s orbit.
- A White House official’s off‑record justification that the clemencies correct 'excessive sentences' or 'politically motivated' prosecutions targeting Trump supporters, while denying that donations or connections influenced the decisions.
- Context that three of the clemency recipients — including Herrera, Vázquez and Rossini — were due to be sentenced this month in the Puerto Rico political‑corruption and bribery case.
5:39 PM
Trump to pardon former Puerto Rico governor and her co-defendants, White House official says
New information:
- A current White House official tells Fox News Trump will pardon not only Wanda Vázquez but also co‑defendants Julio Martín Herrera‑Velutini and former FBI agent Mark Rossini.
- The White House frames the prosecution as 'political,' claiming the investigation began 10 days after Vázquez endorsed Trump in 2020 and asserting there was 'never any element of a quid pro quo.'
- Officials explicitly liken Vázquez’s case to that of Alexander Sittenfeld, another public‑corruption defendant Trump pardoned in May 2025.
- The article reiterates AP‑reported allegations that Herrera and Rossini allegedly offered at least $300,000 in support for Vázquez’s campaign in exchange for firing a bank regulator and installing a consultant from Herrera’s bank.