President Donald Trump pardoned Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) on Wednesday morning for federal money laundering, bribery, and illegal “foreign influence” charges. “One of the clearest examples of this was when Crooked Joe used the FBI and DOJ to ‘take out’ a member of his own Party after Highly Respected Congressman Henry Cuellar bravely spoke out against Open Borders, and the Biden Border ‘Catastrophe,’” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Sleepy Joe went after the Congressman, and even the Congressman’s wonderful wife, Imelda, simply for speaking the TRUTH. It is unAmerican and, as I previously stated, the Radical Left Democrats are a complete and total threat to Democracy!” he continued. Trump criticized the indictment back in 2024, saying it was because of Cuellar’s criticism of Biden’s border policies. In 2024, the Biden-era Department of Justice charged Cuellar and his wife with having “accepted approximately $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: an oil and gas company wholly owned and controlled by the Government of Azerbaijan, and a bank headquartered in Mexico City” from 2014 to 2021. “I want to thank President Trump for his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts. I thank God for standing with my family and I during this difficult time. This decision clears the air and lets us move forward for South Texas,” Cuellar posted to X after the news broke. “This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains. And I intend to meet it head on. Thank you Mr. President, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America,” he added. 50% off DailyWire+ annual memberships will not return for another year, so don’t miss this deal! Join now at DailyWire.com/cyberweek. His daughters sent a clemency request letter to President Trump on November 12, saying that the actions of Cuellar and his wife “were lawful and consistent” with his role in Congress, adding that the Democrat received a “written legal opinion” and opinions from the House Ethics Committee stating that his actions were lawful. “Because of these facts, and others, I am hereby announcing my full and unconditional PARDON of beloved Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar, and Imelda. Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!” the president further stated. Last May, the Democrat said in a statement that “I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations.” Cuellar is running for re-election in 2026 in a competitive South Texas district rated a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report. Trump has pardoned and commuted the sentences of other noteworthy politicians since returning to the White House. He pardoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) in February and commuted the sentence of former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) in October. “George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated. Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!” Trump wrote of Santos. Earlier this week, the president said that pardons signed during the Biden administration with an autopen are no longer valid. “Any and all Documents, Proclamations, Executive Orders, Memorandums, or Contracts, signed by Order of the now infamous and unauthorized ‘AUTOPEN,’ within the Administration of Joseph R. Biden Jr., are hereby null, void, and of no further force or effect,” he wrote. “Anyone receiving ‘Pardons,’ ‘Commutations,’ or any other Legal Document so signed, please be advised that said Document has been fully and completely terminated, and is of no Legal effect.”

We’ve never had a pop culture force in the White House quite like President Donald Trump. Yes, even the Gipper himself, President Ronald Reagan, didn’t grasp star power the same as Trump. Granted, Reagan’s Hollywood days gave him a unique take on culture and the arts and earned him the moniker, “The Great Communicator.” President Trump understands that realm, too, along with our new social media age. Now, Trump is using his leverage to make movies great again. Or, at least, one franchise in particular. Reports say Trump had a hand in the “Rush Hour” franchise revival at Paramount. The saga’s director, Brett Ratner — canceled during the MeToo movement for unproven sexual assault allegations — is also directing the upcoming Melania Trump documentary, “Melania” (January, 2026). Those ties likely helped make a fourth “Rush Hour” film happen. Heather Diehl/Getty Images In an era when Hollywood studios cast a wary glance at right-leaning audiences, President Trump is using his bully pulpit to shape pop culture. That gives him a golden opportunity to do more than revive a stalled franchise. So, which other film projects are deserving of a presidential nudge? It’s cinematically sacrilegious to remake “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” but what about a sequel starring a middle-aged Ferris? The sequel could find Matthew Broderick’s character saddled with a mortgage, two ungrateful kids, and a marriage to Sloan that has long lost its spark. Yet, for one glorious day, the older Ferris finds his inner teen, goes on a grand adventure, and realizes the beauty lurking within adulthood. The only issue could be if the John Hughes estate would allow it – the late Hughes wrote and directed the 1986 classic. It’s still worth a try, if merely for the Reagan-era nostalgia. Paramount Pictures. 1986. The 1994 comedy “PCU” was both ahead of its time and, sadly, a box office misfire with under $5 million from stateside theaters. The comedy skewered the growing “politically correct” movement in American universities, one that presaged a full-blown woke revolution 20 years later. The comedy still landed some stingers, especially given the academia targets on display. Why not remake the film from today’s college prism? Could the material cover everything from absurd college courses on “Swiftology” to darker riffs on college antisemitism? If a direct remake doesn’t make sense, what about a sequel to “Old School?” That frat-style comedy found grown men starting their own Greek-style fraternity. Maybe an “Old School” spin where characters try the same shtick today but run into a furious woke mob rebuffing their efforts to party like it’s 1999? Comedy has struggled since woke took over Hollywood. Even Variety magazine inadvertently admitted as much. Signs suggest its stranglehold on the culture is waning. That gives Team Trump a chance to bring back bawdy, R-rated comedies to a film landscape in dire need of a laugh. And while blockbuster films often struggle to make a profit due to their gargantuan budgets, screen comedies are infinitely cheaper to produce. Trump is reviving Ratner’s career with the “Rush Hour” project. He also could reach out to “The Hangover” director Todd Phillips while he’s at it. Phillips famously said he stopped making comedies (he also directed “Old School” and “Road Trip”) due to woke’s censorious nature. Coax Phillips back into the comedy business and see what happens next. We may not need-need a fourth “Rush Hour” film, but its existence is a thumb in the eye to the woke mind virus sufferers. The saga’s willingness to poke fun at cultural stereotypes typified a better time. Hulton Archive via Getty Images If wisecracks about Asians and black people truly were offensive, stars Chan and Tucker might have said something mid-production, no? Earlier this year, USA Network got offended on behalf of those communities. The cable channel inserted a trigger warning before the first “Rush Hour” feature: We all love our buddy comedies, but this movie was created in a different time. FYI certain depictions, language and humor may seem outdated and at times offensive. Do you understand the words coming out of our mouths? Which brings us to Phillips’ “Hangover” saga. Once again, the third installment showed the formula was wearing thin. Some franchises should call it a day, no matter how profitable they may be. That third “Hangover,” the weakest of the trilogy, made $362 million globally. Warner Bros. Legendary Pictures. Green Hat Films. A revival would do more than give its studio a boost. It would signal the woke era’s official collapse. After all, the film followed four straight white males who drank too much, ogled women, found themselves in deep trouble on multiple fronts, but ended up living happily ever after. No lectures. No Girl Boss characters dressing them down. No forced diversity measures – co-star Ken Jeong stole scenes on his own, thank you. Just R-rated high jinks, the kind that used to power endless dumb but hilarious comedies. And, yes, the usual media suspects would tsk-tsk these projects, telling us how problematic they are and why no one should laugh at them. And most Americans would give those articles a shrug, at best. Some might even laugh out loud while reading them. No one person can lift Hollywood out of its current, sorry state. At the very least, President Trump could Make Hollywood Funny Again. * * * Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of HollywoodInToto.com. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at HollywoodInToto.com. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire. * * * 50% off DailyWire+ annual memberships will not return for another year, so don’t miss this deal! Join now at DailyWire.com/cyberweek.

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott is calling on the Trump administration to strip the largest self-described Muslim civil rights non-profit organization in the United States of its tax-exempt status for its alleged ties to foreign terrorist organizations. In a letter sent Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Abbott requested an investigation into the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ tax-exempt status over alleged ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, which President Donald Trump has made moves to designate as a terrorist organization. Last week, Trump signed an executive order paving the way for his administration to classify certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as terrorist organizations. He said that “final documents are being drawn” for the designation to be “done in the strongest and most powerful terms.” Abbott argued that CAIR has been identified by federal investigators and court filings as “a direct subsidiary of the Muslim Brotherhood” and as a “front group” for Hamas in the United States. Abbott emphasized that Hamas has been a U.S.-designated terrorist organization since 1997 and is the Muslim Brotherhood’s Gaza-based branch, which kidnapped and murdered American citizens during the October 7 attack in Israel. Abbott also cited a recent report that claims CAIR awarded $1,000 cash grants to university students who disrupted classes and intimidated or harassed fellow students “while celebrating Hamas’ October 7th attack.”  “Americans have generous hearts, and federal law wisely creates incentives to donate to nonprofit organizations that promote the public good,” Abbott wrote. “But charity must not become a backdoor to sponsor terrorism, endanger Americans, and subvert our democracy.” Under federal law, tax-exempt status must be suspended when a group is listed as a foreign terrorist organization, according to Abbott. “Domestic organizations created by known terrorist organizations—for the express purpose of supporting and advancing their destructive goals—should clearly be suspended from the benefit of tax-exempt status as 501(c)(3) nonprofits in the United States,” Abbott wrote.  Last month, Abbott issued a proclamation designating the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as terrorist organizations in Texas, accusing them of seeking to “forcibly impose Sharia law.” Abbott’s order prohibits the groups from purchasing or acquiring property in Texas and subjects affiliates to enhanced state penalties. “The actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR to support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment are unacceptable,” Abbott said at the time. “These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.” CAIR responded by suing Abbott and denying the allegations, claiming it has “consistently condemned all forms of unjust violence, including hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and terrorism.”  “Although we are flattered by Greg Abbott’s obsession with our civil rights organization, his publicity stunt masquerading as a proclamation has no basis in fact or law,” the group said. “By defaming a prominent American Muslim institution with debunked conspiracy theories and made-up quotes, Mr. Abbott has once again shown that his top priority is advancing anti-Muslim bigotry, not serving the people of Texas.” CAIR did not respond to a request for comment.

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