U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo), who was indicted last May on charges of bribery, unlawful foreign influence and money laundering, has once again had his trial delayed.
It was originally expected to begin in July, then was rescheduled for March, and most recently, moved to September. Jury trial and selection are reset to Sept. 22. A final interim pretrial conference has been reset to May 2.
For Cuellar, whose South Texas district was a top target for national Republicans in 2022, the political implications of a moving trial have been huge.
Republicans had moved on from the district after his decisive victory last cycle, then put him back on their 2024 target list when he was headed to trial in July, and abandoned ship again after the trial was pushed back to after the election. He was reelected this November with 52.8% of the vote.
Now, with President-elect Donald Trump headed back to the White House, the congressman is projecting newfound confidence in his situation.
The politically moderate Cuellar has been a rare Democratic proponent of strict security measures. Trump, who was one of Cuellar’s early defenders after the indictment, suggested the Congressman was being punished for those views by President Joe Biden’s administration.
Cuellar’s office announced Tuesday that he plans to restart his public media briefings, which they’ve dubbed “Conversations with Cuellar,” starting this week. The first one will be conducted virtually on Wednesday.
As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, the press release said Cuellar plans to discuss an upcoming spending bill.
In an interview last fall, Cuellar boasted to the San Antonio Report that he has such positive relationships across the aisle, he’d be able to use that position to bring money home to the district no matter the outcome of the presidential race.
“If you look at my record, it doesn’t matter if it’s a Democrat or Republican [in the White House], I can still get the job done,” Cuellar said in an interview last fall. “I get criticized for being bipartisan, but at the end of the day, … my job is to bring down funding.”