Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) on Tuesday announced that he plans to continue his re-election campaign, following the FBI’s raid of his home in Laredo, Texas last week.
In a video posted to Twitter, Cuellar said that he is fully cooperating with law enforcement and is “committed to ensuring that justice and the law is upheld.”
“There is an ongoing investigation that will show that there is no wrongdoing on my part,” Cuellar said. “As an attorney, I know firsthand that the legal system is a pillar of our democracy.”
“I pride myself on being your congressman and always doing things honestly, ethically, and the right way,” Cuellar continued.
Cuellar’s video statement comes a week after the FBI raided Cuellar’s home and campaign office in Texas. Although it has not given details about the federal investigation involving the Democratic lawmaker, the FBI acknowledged the search in a statement last week.
“The FBI was present in the vicinity of Windridge Drive and Estate Drive in Laredo conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity,” FBI spokesperson Rosanne Hughes told ABC News. “The FBI cannot provide further comment on an ongoing investigation.”
However, Cuellar’s home and campaign office were reportedly raided by the FBI as part of a federal investigation U.S. businessmen and Azerbaijan, ABC News first reported last week. Cuellar has served as co-chair of the House Azerbaijan Caucus.
The FBI’s raid of the nine-term congressman’s home comes as he gears up for a Democratic primary challenge against progressive Jessica Cisneros on March 1. Cuellar narrowly defeated Cisneros — a former intern in his congressional office who had Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) backing — in the 2020 primary.
Go Jessica!
Unsurprising. First thing you do when the feds come calling is hang onto your seat like grim death, so you can make giving up your seat part of your plea deal. Prosecutor gets to add “bagged a critter” to their resume, you get less prison time.
Step aside Cuellar and let Cisneros keep the seat on the Dem side of the aisle. Your Republican opponent will be hypocritically attacking your corruption all the way through the election.
Nancy Pelosi announced within an hour or so ago that she will be running for another term. That’s not too surprising though.
This should be moot anyway, since Cuellar doesn’t deserve to represent the women of TX anyway. What TX does NOT need is a so called ‘pro life’ Democrat.