Republican shamelessness is one thing, but coming from a putative Democrat, it’s even more infuriating. Hot off the heels of having his Texas home and campaign office raided by the FBI, Rep. Henry Cuellar is defiantly continuing his campaign—and in the most offensive ways possible.
Cuellar is nothing if not brazen. Never mind that big FBI cloud hanging over him; he’s out with a brand new TV ad this week in which he says he will “never stop fighting for South Texas.” Of course, he will indeed have to “stop fighting” … if it’s proven he’s broken any laws during this probe in which a grand jury has issued subpoenas for him, his wife, and at least one campaign staffer.
Even more shameless considering he’s supposed to be a Democrat was his first public appearance after the news of the FBI raid hit: He was accepting an award from a forced-birth group, “Democrats for Life.” It’s a good thing Texas has a solid choice in the March primary for this seat in Jessica Cisneros.
Support a fantastic progressive and give the last anti-choice House Dem the boot!
Cuellar is not backing down, which is a big risk for the whole Democratic House caucus. With an extremely thin Democratic majority, nominating a candidate who is tied up in a potential federal criminal probe is dangerous.
Which means challenger Cisneros needs to win this primary. She’s a human rights attorney and daughter of working-class immigrants from Mexico. She believes in a pathway to citizenship, universal health care, expanding Social Security, and protecting women’s reproductive rights. So essentially, she’s the anti-Cuellar. She’s also, rather crucially, not being investigated by a grand jury and the FBI.
“We are aware of the news regarding Congressman Cuellar and the active FBI investigation. We are closely watching as this develops,” Cisneros said in a measured statement last week. “In the meantime, we are focused on our campaign to deliver change to South Texas families and will not be making any additional comments at this time.”
Leaks from the FBI’s investigation have been frustratingly thin, but a source familiar with the investigation told ABC News that the probe is “part of a wide-ranging federal probe relating to the former Soviet state of Azerbaijan and several U.S. businessmen.” Cuellar’s connection is unclear, but the Daily Beast recently delved into the congressman’s long-standing links to the small, oil-producing nation on the Caspian Sea, terming them “sketchy.”
Cuellar may have good reason to worry. One of his donors and apparent associates is Kemal Oksuz, a U.S. citizen from Azerbaijan who pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in 2018 for trying to cover up hundreds of thousands of dollars from Azerbaijan’s state-run oil company to pay for junkets for U.S. politicians. That’s includes Cuellar, who has maintained close ties to Oksuz and even hired his son as an intern.
We can get rid of the last anti-choice House Democrat on March 1, and potentially avoid the black eye for the whole caucus that would come with a Cuellar indictment. He’s obviously not going to do the right thing by resigning or retiring, so we have to help kick him out.
Cuellar is nothing if not brazen. Never mind that big FBI cloud hanging over him; he’s out with a brand new TV ad this week in which he says he will “never stop fighting for South Texas.” Of course, he will indeed have to “stop fighting” … if it’s proven he’s broken any laws during this probe in which a grand jury has issued subpoenas for him, his wife, and at least one campaign staffer.
Even more shameless considering he’s supposed to be a Democrat was his first public appearance after the news of the FBI raid hit: He was accepting an award from a forced-birth group, “Democrats for Life.” It’s a good thing Texas has a solid choice in the March primary for this seat in Jessica Cisneros.
Support a fantastic progressive and give the last anti-choice House Dem the boot!
Cuellar is not backing down, which is a big risk for the whole Democratic House caucus. With an extremely thin Democratic majority, nominating a candidate who is tied up in a potential federal criminal probe is dangerous.
Which means challenger Cisneros needs to win this primary. She’s a human rights attorney and daughter of working-class immigrants from Mexico. She believes in a pathway to citizenship, universal health care, expanding Social Security, and protecting women’s reproductive rights. So essentially, she’s the anti-Cuellar. She’s also, rather crucially, not being investigated by a grand jury and the FBI.
“We are aware of the news regarding Congressman Cuellar and the active FBI investigation. We are closely watching as this develops,” Cisneros said in a measured statement last week. “In the meantime, we are focused on our campaign to deliver change to South Texas families and will not be making any additional comments at this time.”
Leaks from the FBI’s investigation have been frustratingly thin, but a source familiar with the investigation told ABC News that the probe is “part of a wide-ranging federal probe relating to the former Soviet state of Azerbaijan and several U.S. businessmen.” Cuellar’s connection is unclear, but the Daily Beast recently delved into the congressman’s long-standing links to the small, oil-producing nation on the Caspian Sea, terming them “sketchy.”
Cuellar may have good reason to worry. One of his donors and apparent associates is Kemal Oksuz, a U.S. citizen from Azerbaijan who pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in 2018 for trying to cover up hundreds of thousands of dollars from Azerbaijan’s state-run oil company to pay for junkets for U.S. politicians. That’s includes Cuellar, who has maintained close ties to Oksuz and even hired his son as an intern.
We can get rid of the last anti-choice House Democrat on March 1, and potentially avoid the black eye for the whole caucus that would come with a Cuellar indictment. He’s obviously not going to do the right thing by resigning or retiring, so we have to help kick him out.