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Days after pardoning Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar of federal corruption charges, President Trump went after Cuellar on social media, saying he showed a “lack of loyalty” by filing for reelection as a Democrat, amid speculation that he might switch parties.
Cuellar and his wife had been accused of taking about $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company tied to the Azerbaijan government and from a bank in Mexico City. The Cuellars have maintained their innocence.
Trump last week said he issued the pardon after reading a letter from Cuellar’s daughters asking him to show mercy for their father and mother. He also claimed Democrats had singled Cuellar out because of his tough stance on border security.
In a post on Truth Social Sunday, Trump slammed the congressman for running again as a Democrat— accusing Cuellar of choosing to work with the same party that “wanted him and his wife to spend the rest of their lives in prison.”
In response, Cuellar told Fox News Sunday that he is still the same conservative Democrat he has been for the last 20 years in Congress. He added that he is praying for the president and the country to be successful.
“I follow the words of President LBJ when he said many years ago: I’m an American, I’m a Texan and I’m a Democrat in that order,” Cuellar said, paraphrasing President Lyndon B. Johnson. “And I think anybody that puts party before their country is doing a disservice to their country.”
The pardon came a day after a Republican candidate, Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, announced his bid to challenge Cuellar.
The South Texas district has recently become more competitive because of the GOP’s mid-cycle redistricting. The Cook Political Report rates District 28, which spans from San Antonio to Laredo to the Rio Grande Valley, as a tossup.
