Trump Outs Himself as Bribery Scandal Goes Public

0:00Seriously, why aren't Democrats in Washington doing more to stop Trump? I know. Have you heard about Phil Weiser in Colorado, though? No. Is he different? Yeah. A.G. Weiser sued the Trump administration 65 times. He's beating Trump in court again and again. Things like protecting Obamacare against Trump's illegal tariffs. And he even won against Ticketmaster. So he actually gets results. Exactly. As governor, Phil will fight for Colorado. Paid for by Phil Weiser for Colorado Registered Agent Anna Noskezi. I wrote a little song to remind you, Choice Hotels gets you more of the experiences you value.

0:36The Cambria Hotel's got it all. A rooftop bar, have a ball. Cocktails up here feel just right. It's Cambria amazing, all right. Bring a date, your team, or even your mom. Book direct at choicehotels.com. See you on the roof. This summer, FanDuel is the best place to bet on goals. Including equalizers? Uh-huh. Balls? Yep. Headers? Every goal is worth more on FanDuel. So, let there be goals. New customers get$350 in bonus bets guaranteed when you bet$5 for seven days. 21 plus in present and select states. First online real money wager only. Minimum$5 wager required for seven consecutive days. $5 first deposit required.

1:21Bonus issue does not withdraw the bonus bets, which expires seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at fanduel.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET.

1:57for complete terms and conditions. Seriously, why aren't Democrats in Washington doing more to stop Trump? I know. Have you heard about Phil Weiser in Colorado, though? No. Is he different? Yeah. A.G. Weiser sued the Trump administration 65 times. He's beating Trump in court again and again. Things like protecting Obamacare against Trump's illegal tariffs. And he even won against Ticketmaster. So he actually gets results. Exactly. As governor, Phil will fight for Colorado. Paid for by Phil Weiser for Colorado Registered Agent Anna Neskazi.

2:56Michael Popok:pardon for his wife and for him, and that he would become a reliable red vote in Texas. That's not the way it works, even though that's the way it works in Donald Trump's mind as a transactional guy who thinks everything is a deal. I'm Michael Popak. Let's talk about the big FU that was given by Representative Cuellar and his wife effectively to Donald Trump when they said, yeah, thanks for the pardon, but we're still conservative Democrats. You're on Midas Dutch and Legal AF. I just find the irony of trying to bribe somebody indicted for bribery too good, too delicious to pass up. Let's get to it.

3:36Michael Popok:Henry Cuellar, conservative Democrat from a district in Texas covering places like San Antonio, was indicted along with his wife for accepting bribes from Azerbaijan and Mexico. I mean, they had the direct link for Azerbaijan and the energy company. After he got the bribe, he gave some pro-Azerbaijan and energy company speech on the House floor talking about Azerbaijan. Mexico, too, lined his pockets with money and was picked up by the Biden administration, prosecuted for public corruption, theft of honest services, much the way Senator Menendez in New Jersey, you know, that's going to be the next pardon, by the way, convicted of having gold bars that he accepted from Egypt in terms of lobbying on their behalf, undisclosed to the American voter, that he accepted bribes.

4:34Michael Popok:So what happens? It's now a thing. If you have children, daughters, you write letters to Trump to try to get your parents pardoned. It's like the, what was their name? The Chrisleys on television who stole hundreds of millions of dollars from banks, but their attractive looking daughters wrote a letter or daughter wrote a letter and then the Chrisleys are out. Same thing happened with the Cuellars. And so the daughters write a letter and Trump lets him out. Now it looks like the reason Trump let him out is because he wanted him to become a reliable red seat, a red vote. And Cuellar has said publicly, including on Fox, listen, I'm a Texan first, I'm an American first, a Texan second and a Democrat third in that order.

5:21Michael Popok:And I am a conservative, but I caucus with the Democratic Party and thank you for the pardon, but no. Now, the maps are very important to Donald Trump. We know the United States Supreme Court is going to allow a map that was redrawn in the last six months by Texas to eliminate five blue seats and make it five seats redder has been approved effectively by the Supreme Court for this upcoming midterm election. Because we just got the ruling for the United States Supreme Court led by Justice Alito that they're not going to interfere with map making this close, quote unquote, to an election. And they don't see racial gerrymandering.

6:00Michael Popok:What they see is Democratic-Republican gerrymandering. They see Republican districting and redrawing to improve the odds of Republicans, much the way California has done it with Prop 50 with their new maps. With that as a backdrop, of the five seats in Texas that were eliminated, that were Democratic, Henry Cuellar was not one of them. So he's got effectively a safe seat. It got a lot safer now that Donald Trump has effectively taken the shade or shadow of being an indicted bribe taker off the table. I think that just increased the odds of Henry Cuellar to be supported by the voters of his district and send them back to Congress.

6:48Michael Popok:In a way, it actually supports or improves his bona fides as being a firebrand conservative who's willing to stand up to everybody, including the Department of Justice, and work with Donald Trump if he has to on behalf of Texans and himself and work with the Democrats in other ways. But Donald Trump's all pissed off because he didn't get what he wanted. He wanted effectively that seat to flip with Cuellar going, thank you for the pardon, sir. I'm now a Republican. That didn't happen. Let's first watch Cuellar with Maria Bartiromo on Morning Futures being grilled because, you know, she's a propagandist about being disloyal to the president and being attacked for it because he wouldn't flip and become a Republican.

7:34Michael Popok:Let's play the clip. Congressman, thanks so much for being here. Congratulations on the pardon. Thank you so much. And it's so good talking to you again. And do you believe that you were indicted because of your criticism of Biden's open border? absolutely the president was right and i now looking at all the evidence and looking at everything uh definitely i feel that i was uh weaponized you know they used the department to uh to go after my you know myself and my family and i'll tell you something very if they want to come after me because i was a critic about open borders that's one thing but you don't bring the family in you just don't do that you don't as a prosecutor you just don't do that type of situation.

8:18Michael Popok:Now, Donald Trump was originally asked about his pardon and whether that improved the odds of Cuellar getting reelected in the White House several days ago. And there he was relatively calm. Well, that's not the reason I did it. You know, it was weaponization and, you know, we all have something in common with Biden's Department of Justice. Let's play the clip. Did you speak with House Republican leadership about your decision to pardon Congressman Henry And are you concerned that you made a vulnerable Democrat, perhaps less vulnerable with that decision? It didn't matter. He was a respected person.

8:55He was treated very badly because he said that people should not be allowed to pour into our country. And he was right. He didn't like open borders. He didn't. He was on the border. You know, he represents a very respected man. He represents the people on the border. and he saw what was happening. And as soon as he made that statement, I then said, I'll bet he gets indicted. And that's what happened. You know, I put out my truth from that. Well, I did a truth. Wonderful truth. We love truth. But what happened is he got indicted for speaking the truth. And his wife got indicted, Imelda. And that's sort of a first.

9:37Usually they leave the wives alone, right? Don't they, Congressman? Typically they indict somebody. Put him in jail for the rest of his life, but the wife can just sit home and cry or she'll find a new man. A lot of times they find a new man makes him much happier. In fact, a lot of times they like that man better than the one that's in jail.

9:54Michael Popok:Holiday headlines, family debates and group texts that won't quit. You deserve a ceasefire. Indicloud is your online cannabis dispensary for quieting the noise. Gumbies, curated flowers, pre-rolls and now zero sugar, zero calorie THC sodas. All federally legal THC, DEA certified, lab tested, shipped to street. You may not be able to mute the world, but you can mute your stress one gummy or soda at a time. Policy debates, family debates, internal debates, all handled by one bipartisan solution into cloud. Gummies, sodas, and pre-roll for the moments democracy wears you out. And$70 ounces, that's what we call economic relief.

10:38Michael Popok:This is how adults log off, mindfully. It may be with a little fizz. If you're 21 or older, visit Indicloud.co and use code LEGALAF for 25 % off plus free shipping. That's Indicloud.co, code LEGALAF for 25 % off, free shipping, and one less headline in your head. Enjoy responsibly. And thanks to Indicloud for sponsoring today's much-needed quiet. But now that Cuellar and his wife are not going to become Democrats, you know, the way I think of it is like switching parties is like switching religions. You know, be like, I can't believe he's not giving up Catholicism and becoming a Jew. I mean, for me, politics is as part of the fiber of my being as my spiritual embrace, my religion.

11:37Michael Popok:And for somebody to say, switch, it's not that easy. And why would you trust Henry Cuellar? He got indicted for bribery. I really don't understand. But here is what Donald Trump said now that he's all pissed off that Cuellar is not playing by the rules. He's an ingrate. He says, such a lack of loyalty, something that Texas voters and Henry's daughters will not like. Right. They're going to side with Daddy Trump over their father. Oh, well, next time. No more Mr. Nice Guy. When was this guy ever Mr. Nice Guy? By the way, where does he have the time to do the presidency? I mean, we already had the reporting that Donald Trump rolls into the office at like noon, rolls out at five.

12:26Michael Popok:He golfs dozens of days a month. And on top of that, he's writing like a hundred social media posts in an evening or people around him are. How does he have time to even be the president? Why does he even want to be the president of the United States? Why doesn't he just follow Melania out the door? She obviously threw her in the towel. She doesn't want to be the first lady. She didn't want to be first lady first time. You know? But what's she busy doing? Overseeing the demolition of the White House for Christmas? Nothing says holidays this time of year like jackhammers at the White House. So he goes on.

13:08Michael Popok:He says, no more Mr. Nice Guy. What, in case Cuellar gets indicted again? I mean, it is possible. Menendez got indicted twice and got convicted once. I mean, even when he got indicted in a prior bribery scheme, it did not lead him to be chastened. He did not learn a lesson. He just took another bribe five or eight years later and then tried to blame the girlfriend or the wife that he had at the time. She made him do it. That's chivalry. That's bravery. That's profiling courage. At least Cuellar didn't blame his wife, even though she was indicted along with him for putting money in her pocket. So what I the takeaway from this hot take is, as we've said, if you see a Trump pardon, there is a transactional component to it.

14:00Michael Popok:It either benefits himself, Donald Trump, politically or financially or both. So that's why Menendez isn't getting out of jail, because a senator from New Jersey, a blue senator from New Jersey, took bribes like that. That doesn't help. Donald Trump gets no benefit out of that. Cuellar, I can flip a seat. Honduras ex-president serving 45 years for cocaine trafficking, single-handedly brought more cocaine into America during that period than any other person. he can help me influence the Honduran election, which backfired as well. Another backfire. Because it's not going to go hard right conservative in Honduras.

14:43Michael Popok:It's going to go moderate. And he pissed off the Hondurans by releasing the president from the party that he was trying to support. In the name of drug interdiction, cocaine interdiction, You release the cocaine trafficker? So that backfired. See, Donald Trump is trying to turn all the world red. He wants all of Europe to go hard right. He just gave them a lesson, right? A national security document that the Russians love, attacking Europe, saying that your immigration policies are out of whack, that you're going to lose your countries and your cultures. You need to become hard right. You need to make Europe great again.

15:24Michael Popok:And we're going to turn our attention to the Western Hemisphere only. at a time when Russia is chomping at the bit to attack in Europe, it said they're planning to attack Europe if they have to. And they just try to down the plane for the EU president, jam her radar to crash the plane and kill her and assassinate her. Now's the time to abandon Europe. But when you see a financial pardon, a guy or a person who's been pardoned, hundreds of millions of dollars was at stake, probably is going to benefit the Trump family fortune in some way. That's what you always have to think. It's never without a string attached.

16:00Michael Popok:It's never for the right reason. You know, the evidence, new evidence, exonerating the person. They were sentenced to a too high level of sentencing guideline crimes because there was a disparity between cocaine and crack, and black people got the raw end of the stick, and they got longer sentences. It's never like that. It's always, well, the Biden Department of Justice was weaponized. because they went after crime. Let's just remember this. Department of Justice now under Donald Trump does not have a public corruption unit, is not going after foreign bribes, does not have a public integrity unit to speak of, and doesn't really have a civil rights unit to speak of.

16:44Michael Popok:So I don't know what you call that. That's just the chloroforming and the reorientation of the Department of Justice to only go after Donald Trump's enemies and not do a darn thing towards and for Americans. We'll continue to follow it all right here on the Midas Touch Network and Legal AF. I have a personal ask, folks. We're close to the 1 million subscriber mark, that landmark over on Legal AF YouTube, where I do a lot of my work along with other contributors. Probably gonna go to 980 ,000 this weekend coming up. And then we're trying to get to 1 million before Hanukkah Christmas. With your help, we will.

17:23Michael Popok:The bigger we get, the more your voice is heard, the more street credibility we have to bring on amazing contributors. The American Civil Liberties Union is coming on with us. Democracy Forward is there with us. Court Accountability Action is there with us and some other amazing contributors. Join me, find out if you're a subscriber. It's all for free, no paywall, no outside investors. Same thing on Legal AF Substack. Become a paid member and you get access to a whole treasure trove of information at the intersection of law and politics. So until my next report, I'm Michael Popak. Can't get your fill of Legal AF?

18:00Michael Popok:Me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF Substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the Substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do call, wait for it, Morning AF. What else? All the other contributors from Legal AF are there as well. We got some new reporting. We got interviews. We got ad-free versions of the podcast. And hot takes, wear legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe.

18:35Seriously, why aren't Democrats in Washington doing more to stop Trump? I know. Have you heard about Phil Weiser in Colorado, though? No. Is he different? Yeah. A.G. Weiser sued the Trump administration 65 times. He's beating Trump in court again and again. Things like protecting Obamacare against Trump's illegal tariffs. And he even won against Ticketmaster. So he actually gets results. Exactly. As Governor, Phil will fight for Colorado. Paid for by Phil Weiser for Colorado Registered Agent Nanna Nuskazi. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for$15 a month plan that I've been enjoying.

19:13It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three-month plan, equivalent to$15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. Default terms at mintmobile.com. There's a moment when performance becomes unstoppable. Because once you've found your drive, ordinary just isn't enough. The versatile BMW X3 turns ambition into action. The X5 boasts unrivaled comfort and confidence.

19:50And the iconic 3 Series delivers pure exhilaration. Why settle when greatness is within reach? The BMW Ultimate Sales Event on now. Free and for exceptional offers through June 30th. Hi, I'm Jake Rez, also known as Nurse Jake. As a travel nurse, I've worked in all kinds of places. different settings cities and climates every assignment brings on a new challenge which is why i always bring my figs these scrubs are built for whatever the job throws at you they're breathable flexible and comfortable in any environment no matter where i land i know they're going to keep me looking and feeling my best and don't sleep on the details the pockets the features the finishing touches everything has a purpose and it makes a real difference when you're moving non-stop the fit is clean tailored and super polished and they come in a huge range of colors.

20:39In other words, they feel great throughout a 12-hour shift and they always look good. See every healthcare professional on Instagram. If you work in healthcare or know someone who does, check out Figs and get 15 % off your first order at wearfigs.com with code FIGSRX. That's wearfigs.com, code FIGSRX. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for$15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at MintMobile.com slash switch.

21:19Upfront payment of$45 for three month plan equivalent to$15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. Default terms at MintMobile.com.