Puerto Rico: $3.5 million to MAGA Inc., then pardons for the banker, the governor and the go-between

In 2022 the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section charged Herrera Velutini, Vázquez and Rossini with conspiracy, federal programs bribery and honest services wire fraud over Vázquez's 2020 campaign. In December 2024, while the case was pending, Herrera Velutini's daughter Isabela Herrera gave $2.5 million to MAGA Inc.; according to House Judiciary Committee Democrats, her only prior federal contribution had been $20.

Herrera Velutini hired Chris Kise, who had defended Trump in the classified documents case. As trial approached, the department dropped the most serious charges and allowed pleas to lesser campaign-finance violations, a penalty Judge Silvia Carreño-Coll wrote was "a mere slap on the wrist" compared with the exposure the defendants had faced. FEC records show a further $1,000,000 from Isabela Herrera to MAGA Inc. on July 22, 2025.

On January 15, 2026, Trump granted full pardons to all three. A White House official told CBS News the donations had nothing to do with the pardons, and Vázquez's pardon materials say her prosecution was politically motivated. In February 2026 the Campaign Legal Center asked the FEC to investigate whether the daughter's contributions were made with her father's money; as a foreign national, he is barred from contributing.

Documented

Lawful exercise of the pardon power; a complaint to the FEC alleging the donations were a straw-donor scheme was filed in February 2026

$3.5M to MAGA Inc. from the banker's daughter, including $1,000,000 on July 22, 2025 per FEC Schedule A; the case was cut from federal bribery charges to lesser pleas

Charged 2022; $2.5M to MAGA Inc. 2024-12; judge's 'slap on the wrist' statement 2025-07; $1M to MAGA Inc. 2025-07-22; pardons 2026-01-15; amended warrants 2026-01-20; FEC complaint 2026-02-17