President Donald Trump on Sunday lashed out at Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas) for deciding to run for reelection as a Democrat, a move that came after the president unexpectedly pardoned him last week ahead of a trial on federal corruption charges.
“Such a lack of LOYALTY,” Trump said in a post shared on Truth Social.
Trump’s pardon on Wednesday ended the prosecution of the lawmaker that had started during the Biden administration on charges of bribery, money laundering and conspiracy.
Trump has also pardoned Cuellar’s wife, Imelda, who was also indicted. The two were scheduled to stand trial in April after being accused of taking $600,000 in bribes from an oil company controlled by the Azerbaijan government and a bank headquartered in Mexico.
Trump implied on his post Sunday that as a result of the pardon, Cuellar, one of the most conservative Democrats in the House, shouldn’t have run for reelection as a Democrat. Cuellar hails from a swing district along the Texas border that the National Republican Congressional Committee, House Republicans’ campaign arm, has repeatedly regarded as a pickup opportunity for the party.
“Only a short time after signing the Pardon, Congressman Henry Cuellar announced that he will be ‘running’ for Congress again … as a Democrat, continuing to work with the same Radical Left Scum that just weeks before wanted him and his wife to spend the rest of their lives in Prison,” Trump said.
He added later, “Next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!”
In an interview Sunday morning with Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo, Cuellar said he believes he was indicted because he criticized President Joe Biden’s border policies, which he viewed as too relaxed.
When asked about his party affiliation, Cuellar said: “Look, I’m a Democrat.”
“I’m probably one of the most, if not the most, bipartisan Democrats,” he said. “And as I told some of my Republican friends on the House floor, I vote better than some of the Republicans in the Republican caucus. And they agree with me.”
In his Sunday post, Trump continued to say that Cuellar’s prosecution was “very unfair.” He said he was moved after receiving a letter from the Cuellars’ daughters in November, which he posted on Truth Social as well, urging the pardon.
“I never spoke to the Congressman, his wife, or his daughters, but felt very good about fighting for a family,” he wrote. “God was very happy with me that day!”
When asked about Trump’s criticism, Cuellar replied that he prayed for Trump and his family, “because if the president succeeds, the country succeeds.”
He added: “I’m an American, I’m a Texan and I’m a Democrat, in that order. And I think anybody that puts party before their country is doing a disservice to their country.”
Cuellar, 70, who has been in Congress since 2005, said he would continue to work with Trump and his administration on immigration policy. “I am a conservative Democrat, but I will work with the president,” Cuellar said.
The post Trump lashes out at Cuellar for running again as a Democrat after pardon appeared first on Washington Post.
