Key Highlights
- "Oh' well, next time, no more Mr.
- Nice guy!"The Justice Department, under the Biden administration, charged that Cuellar and his wife had accepted $600,000 (£450,600) from Azerbaijan's state-owned oil company and an unnamed Mexican bank in exchange for advancing their interests in Congress.
- The couple, who have maintained their innocence, were charged with 14 counts in 2024, including conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, money laundering and violating a ban on acting as agents of a foreign organisation. In his Sunday social media post, Trump accused "radical left" Democrats of "mercilessly" going after Cuellar - who is a moderate Democrat - in an "evil quest" to "destroy" him and his family "all because Henry strongly wanted, correctly, BORDER SECURITY!"Trump said in the lengthy post that he had never spoken to the congressman or his family but "felt very good about fighting" for his family because they were "treated sooo BADLY!" Trump added that despite his pardon, Cuellar decided to run 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 - And probably still do!"And that "lack of loyalty", Trump wrote, would not sit well with Texas voters or with Cuellar's daughters, who had written a letter to the president urging him to pardon their father.
- Still, Cuellar doubled down on his intentions to remain in the Democratic party, telling Fox News on Sunday: "I'm an American, I'm a Texan and I'm a Democrat - in that order."When asked to respond to Trump's social media post, Cuellar said: "I am a conservative Democrat, but I will work with the president."Cuellar added that Trump was on his mind while he attended church on Sunday morning.
- "I prayed for the president," he said.
