Trump

Trump accused of ‘corruption’ as he fumes about ‘lack of loyalty’ from pardoned politician

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In news which is hardly surprising at this point, US president Donald Trump’s making headlines once again over his use of the presidential pardon, all because he’s unhappy with what one individual did next after he was granted clemency.

Henry Cuellar, who represents Texas in the House of Representatives for the Democrats, was indicted on charges of bribery and money laundering in May 2024, and accused of taking roughly $600,000 in total from two banks in Mexico and Azerbaijan.

Cueller has long maintained his innocence while under investigation by the FBI for more than three years, and was awaiting trial when Trump pardoned him on Wednesday.

However, writing on Truth Social on Sunday, the Republican fumed at the news that Cueller announced he was looking to run again for the Democratic Party next year.

Trump said: “I never spoke to the Congressman, his wife, or his daughters, but felt very good about fighting for a family that was tormented by very sick and deranged people - They were treated sooo BADLY!

“I signed the papers, and said to people in the Oval Office that I just did a very good, perhaps life saving, thing. God was very happy with me that day!

“THEN IT HAPPENED!!! Only a short time after signing the Pardon, Congressman Henry Cuellar announced that he will be ‘running’ for Congress again, in the Great State of Texas … 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!

“Such a lack of LOYALTY, something that Texas Voters, and Henry’s daughters, will not like. Oh well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!”

The situation has seen X/Twitter users claim the post is “an admission by Trump that his pardons are quid-pro-quos”:

Political commentator Brian Allen claimed that Trump wasn’t “mad about politics”, but rather he was “mad his pardon didn’t buy the man’s soul”:

Progressive Alex Cole tweeted that the president is “not even hiding his corruption anymore”:

Meanwhile, policy consultant Adam Cochran criticised “the current spineless Republican caucus” who will “pretend to not see” Trump’s post as an “impeachable offence”:

Past pardons from Trump have included around 1,500 supporters involved in the January 6 insurrection, disgraced former congressman George Santos, and a man he ‘doesn’t know’ (Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance).

The White House has been approached by indy100 for comment.

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