Judge: Sentencing still on for ex-governor despite presidential pardon

By THE STAR STAFF

Despite a presidential pardon, a federal judge has declined to cancel the sentencing hearing of former governor Wanda Vázquez Garced and two others.

Judge Sylvia Carreno declined to cancel the one-year sentence recommended by prosecutors against the former governor after she pleaded guilty to a charge of accepting a political donation from a foreigner.

President Donald Trump granted a presidential pardon late last week to the former governor, who pleaded guilty last year in a federal public corruption case. Her two co‑defendants -- billionaire Venezuelan‑Italian banker and Britannia Financial Group founder Julio Martín Herrera Velutini, and former FBI agent Mark Rossini -- were also pardoned last Thursday, according to Justice Department records (see related story on page 5).

CBS News first reported the planned pardons.

Public filings show that Herrera Velutini’s daughter, Isabel Herrera, contributed $2.5 million in December 2024 and $1 million last July to the pro‑Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. A White House official said the donations were unrelated to the pardons.

“Mr. Herrera Velutini is profoundly grateful to President Donald J. Trump for bestowing the grace of his benevolent pardon and looks forward to moving on with his life and dedicating his time to his family and career,” his attorney, Chris Kise, told CBS News.

The Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section -- which was largely dismantled last year -- charged the three in 2022 with conspiracy, federal‑program bribery, and honest‑services wire fraud in connection with Vázquez Garced’s 2020 gubernatorial campaign.

All three ultimately pleaded guilty to lesser corruption charges in August, after the Justice Department unexpectedly reached plea agreements with the defendants as the case neared trial. Among the lawyers involved in negotiating the deal was Kise, who had previously represented Trump in the federal investigation involving classified documents.

As the trial approached, Kise met with senior Justice Department officials to argue for dropping or reducing the charges, according to sources who spoke to CBS News.

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón issued a statement saying: “I recognize the authority of President Trump to grant pardons; however, this pardon does not change the reality that Wanda Vázquez Garced admitted guilt in the criminal case brought against her.”

“Presidential pardons for individuals who have been convicted are a constitutional power of the President of the United States -- a power that has been exercised before, including here in Puerto Rico,” the governor’s statement said. “The granting of this presidential pardon does not erase the seriousness of the acts admitted nor silence the painful and embarrassing chapter it represented for Puerto Rico.”

A presidential pardon forgives the crime, but it does not erase it.

What a pardon does:

* Restores civil rights lost due to the conviction, such as the right to vote (in federal offenses), hold federal office, or serve on a jury.

* Ends all remaining federal criminal penalties, including prison time, fines, and probation.

* Acts as an official statement of forgiveness by the U.S. government.

What a pardon does NOT do:

* It does not overturn or erase the conviction; the guilty plea or guilty verdict still remains on the record.

* It does not declare the person innocent.

* It does not affect state‑level charges (only federal crimes).

* It does not expunge or seal records -- the underlying facts and court documents remain public.

* It does not necessarily erase professional consequences, such as loss of licenses or ethical sanctions, unless separate processes reinstate them.

The governor said Sunday that if the Legislature approves her bill to eliminate security details for former governors and convicted former officials, she will remove the privilege from Vázquez Garced despite the presidential pardon.

“We filed an administration bill that eliminates security details for anyone who has committed a crime. And if they approve that bill, her security detail will be eliminated,” González Colón said in response to questions from the press. “... And if she [Vázquez Garced] wants to argue something, let her go to court, but I have to have the legal authority to do so.”