Henry Cuellar indicted: DOJ charges Texas House Democrat with taking bribes
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) was indicted in Texas on Friday for allegedly accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities, the government of Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank.
Cuellar, a congressman of nearly two decades, and his wife Imelda were charged by the Department of Justice with several bribery, conspiracy, and money laundering charges. The pair allegedly received bribe payments through "sham consulting contracts" owned by Imelda Cuellar, "who performed little to no legitimate work under the contracts," according to the indictment.
The bribe money allegedly came from an Azerbaijani oil and gas company and a bank in Mexico City. Cuellar, in exchange for the payments, allegedly agreed to use his political influence to affect foreign policy and legislative changes in favor of the entities, the indictment said.
Cuellar and his wife each face 14 charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery of a federal official, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, violating a ban on public officials acting as foreign agents, and several money laundering violations. The charges carry a maximum sentence of more than 200 years in prison for both the congressman and his wife, but sentencing in the Cuellars' case would likely not result in the maximum penalties.
The pair made an initial appearance in federal court in Houston on Friday afternoon, according to the case docket. Multiple reports indicate they were both released on $100,000 bonds.
Cuellar declared that he and his wife were innocent hours ahead of the indictment being unsealed.
"Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas," Cuellar said.
Cuellar once served as the co-chairman of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus. While he currently holds the position of ranking member on a House Appropriations Committee subcommittee governing homeland security matters, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) announced Friday that Cuellar would "take leave" from that role "while this matter is ongoing."
NBC News reported Friday morning that the DOJ was preparing to bring the indictment against Cuellar. According to the outlet, his staff members were calling other member offices on Friday seeking advice on how to handle the situation.
In January 2022, Cuellar's home and campaign office in Laredo, Texas, were raided as part of a DOJ investigation into Azerbaijan and those connected to the nation. Cuellar's attorney later told several news outlets in April of that year that the Texas congressman was informed he was not the target of the investigation.
"Before I took any action, I proactively sought legal advice from the House Ethics Committee, who gave me more than one written opinion, along with an additional opinion from a national law firm," Cuellar said on Friday. "The actions I took in Congress were consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people."
"These allegations have been difficult on my family," Cuellar continued. "But, with your prayers, we will overcome."
Over the last two years, Cuellar has faced tough reelection cycles. In 2022, he narrowly defeated a progressive challenger. This year, two Republican candidates will face each other in a runoff election on May 28 for the opportunity to unseat Cuellar in November.
Though his seat is rated "likely Democratic" by the Cook Political Report, an indictment could slim his reelection chances.
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No worries, perhaps he can pull off a Trump.
Where are all the dems pressuring him to resign?
Oh, right. Much like the indicted Senator Menendez, they don't care when the D is after the name.
He is probably guilty, and when convicted he should have a nice prison cell waiting.
They don’t usually bring these types of charges unless they nearly 100% confident in a case.