Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities, according to an indictment released by the Justice Department on Friday.
The moderate Democrat said in a statement earlier that day that he will continue seeking reelection to his Texas seat and that both he and his wife are innocent of the charges.
The indictment obtained by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Texas alleges that the Cuellars participated in two schemes involving bribery, unlawful foreign influence and money laundering. They appeared in court in Houston on Friday.
The court documents unsealed Friday allege that starting in December 2014 through November 2021, Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, accepted bribes from an oil and gas company owned by the government of Azerbaijan as well as a bank headquartered in Mexico City.
The statement from DOJ officials alleges that the payments were laundered by front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Cuellar’s wife “who performed little to no legitimate work under the contracts.”
Justice Department investigators said that in exchange, Cuellar agreed to use his position as a lawmaker to give preferential foreign policy treatment to Azerbaijan. Cuellar also allegedly agreed to influence executive branch officials to help the Mexico City bank in exchange for those separate payments.
The case is being handled by DOJ prosecutors in Washington, as well as both the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and the National Security Division.
Henry Cuellar denied the allegations, without speaking to any specifically, in a statement after reports emerged of his indictment.
“I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations. Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas,” he said, adding that he’d sought legal advice from the House Ethics panel. An Ethics panel spokesperson declined to comment.
“Imelda and I have been married for 32 years. On top of being an amazing wife and mother, she’s an accomplished businesswoman with two degrees. She spent her career working with banking, tax, and consulting. The allegation that she is anything but qualified and hard working is both wrong and offensive,” he said.
NBC News first reported the expected charges.
Just over two years ago, the FBI conducted a “court-authorized” search of the Texas Democrat’s Laredo home, as well as a second building housing his campaign office. Cuellar’s lawyer Joshua Berman has said that the moderate Democrat was not the target of the investigation by the DOJ.
The search reportedly came as part of a federal investigation into U.S. businesspeople who have ties to the country of Azerbaijan.
Cuellar has served in Congress since 2005 and was at one time the co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus. He is running for reelection and has been endorsed by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.). Cuellar’s incoming indictment will likely become a major political problem for Democrats, who hope to regain the majority in the House in November.
Christie Stephenson, a spokesperson for Jeffries, said Cuellar was “entitled to his day in court and the presumption of innocence throughout the legal process.”
Cuellar is stepping down from his role as the top Democrat on the Appropriations sub panel overseeing Homeland Security funding, which is required when members are indicted under House Democrats’ rules.
He beat tough primary challenges in 2022 and 2020 from Jessica Cisneros, who didn’t run again this cycle. The primary date in Texas for this cycle has already passed.
Josh Gerstein contributed to this report.
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