Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar and wife indicted over allegations of $600,000 bribes from Azerbaijan

Texas Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife have been indicted by federal prosecutors on charges of conspiracy and bribery, after allegedly taking nearly $600,000 from a Azerbaijani-controlled company and a Mexican bank.

The charges were announced on Friday by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), shortly after Mr Cuellar protested his innocence.

It is alleged that from 2014 to 2021, Mr Cuellar and his wife Imelda accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico, and in exchange, the congressman agreed to advance the interests of the country and the bank in the US, according to an indictment.

The money was also allegedly laundered through a series of front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Ms Cuellar.

Among other things, Mr Cuellar allegedly agreed to influence legislation favorable to Azerbaijan and deliver a pro-Azerbaijan speech on the floor of the US House.

The announcement comes after the congressman released a statement earlier on Friday in which he claimed that “everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas.”

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“I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations,” Mr Cuellar said. “Before I took 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.

“Furthermore, we requested a meeting with the Washington DC prosecutors to explain the facts and they refused to discuss the case with us or hear our side.”

He added that the actions he took in Congress were “consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people.”

A conservative Democrat, Mr Cuellar has long been a target of progressives given his opposition to abortion rights. In 2020 and 2022, Jessica Cisneros staged a primary challenger against him, sending him to a runoff, in which he prevailed both times.

House Democratic leadership has consistently backed him and belive that he is the only Democrat who can win in the heavily conservative and Latino Rio Grande Valley. In his most recent primary in March, he ran unopposed.

Mr Cuellar has also sharply criticised other Democrats for their policies on immigration and started a coterie of Democrats who support stronger measures called Democrats for Border Security Task Force.

He was at one time the co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus.

Mr Cuellar’s family also has a prominent presence in the district. His brother is the sheriff of Webb County while his sister served as a judge for Rio Bravo and Webb County. His concentration of power has earned him the nickname “the King Laredo,” where he lives.

In 2022, the FBI raided Mr Cuellar’s congressional office in Laredo and his home. His attorney at that time said the congressman was not the target of that investigation.

That search was part of a broader investigation related to Azerbaijan that saw FBI agents serve a raft of subpoenas and conduct interviews in Washington DC, and Texas, a person with direct knowledge of the probe previously told The Associated Press.

Federal disclosures show that the nine-term congressman traveled to Azerbaijan in 2013. Two years later, Mr Cuellar’s office announced an agreement between a Texas university and an organization called the Assembly of Friends of Azerbaijan for the purposes of collaborating on oil and gas research and education.

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Despite the controversy surrounding the raids in 2022, Mr Cuellar went on to beat back a left-wing Democratic challenger – Jessica Cisneros – for the second time.

A year after the raid on his home the congressman told the Texas Tribune: “There has been no wrongdoing on my part... My focus remains the same from my very first day in office: delivering results for Texans across my district.”

Mr Cuellar has previously been undaunted by the controversy and has previously vowed to seek reelection to Congress in November, which would be his 11th term.

Following the announcement of charges, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that the congressman was “entitled to his day in court.”

“Henry Cuellar has admirably devoted his career to public service and is a valued Member of the House Democratic Caucus. Like any American, Congressman Cuellar is entitled to his day in court and the presumption of innocence throughout the legal process,” a statement from Mr Jeffries read.

“Pursuant to House Democratic Caucus Rule 24, Congressman Cuellar will take leave as Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee while this matter is ongoing.”

In contrast, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) wrote in a brief post on X: “Cuellar does not put Texas first, he puts himself first. Will House Democrats call for him to RESIGN?”