Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife have been indicted for allegedly accepting $600,000 in foreign bribes to influence United States policy.
Congressman Enrique Roberto “Henry” Cuellar, 68, and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, 67, both of Laredo, Texas, were charged on Friday with two schemes involving bribery, unlawful foreign influence, and money laundering.
According to charging documents, "beginning in at least December 2014 and continuing through at least November 2021, Congressman Cuellar and Imelda Cuellar allegedly accepted approximately $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: an oil and gas company wholly owned and controlled by the Government of Azerbaijan, and a bank headquartered in Mexico City," the Department of Justice said in a press release.The bribe payments were allegedly laundered, pursuant to sham consulting contracts, through a series of front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar, who performed little to no legitimate work under the contracts. In exchange for the bribes paid by the Azerbaijani oil and gas company, Congressman Cuellar allegedly agreed to use his office to influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan. In exchange for the bribes paid by the Mexican bank, Congressman Cuellar allegedly agreed to influence legislative activity and to advise and pressure high-ranking U.S. Executive Branch officials regarding measures beneficial to the bank.
The congressman and his wife are each charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery of a federal official and to have a public official act as an agent of a foreign principal, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each count; two counts of bribery of a federal official, which carries up to 15 years in prison on each count; two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, which carries 20 years in prison on each count; two counts of violating the ban on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal, which carries two years in prison on each count; one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering, which is a penalty of up to 20 years in prison; and five counts of money laundering, which carries 20 years in prison on each count.
The Cuellars face over 200 years in prison each if convicted on all counts.
Rep. Cuellar issued a statement saying that the charges will not stop him from seeking reelection.
The congressman claimed he had “proactively sought legal advice” from the House Ethics Committee, which had issued “more than one written opinion” about the payments.
“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,” Cuellar said in his statement. He added, “The actions I took in Congress were consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people.”
“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,” he continued. “The allegation that she is anything but qualified and hard working is both wrong and offensive.”
“Let me be clear, I’m running for re-election and will win this November.”
NBC News reports:Cuellar’s home and campaign office in Laredo, Texas, were raided in January 2022 as part of a federal investigation into Azerbaijan and a group of U.S. businessmen who have ties to the country, law enforcement said at the time. His office had pledged to cooperate with the investigation. In April, Cuellar's lawyer, Joshua Berman, told some news outlets that federal authorities informed him he was not the target of the investigation.
The Cuellars were each released on a $100,000 bond on Friday afternoon.
