Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife Imelda Cuellar from Texas have been indicted on federal bribery and money laundering charges.
Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX) was indicted on Friday, nearly two years after federal authorities raided his offices, investigating his ties to U.S. businessmen linked to Azerbaijan. He and his wife stand accused of accepting $600,000 in bribes from Azerbaijan in exchange for official favors as a congressman. Joshua Berman, Cuellar’s attorney, previously stated that his client wasn’t the focus of the government’s inquiry. Cuellar co-chairs the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus.
“An indictment was unsealed today in the Southern District of Texas charging U.S. Congressman Enrique Roberto “Henry” Cuellar, 68, and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, 67, both of Laredo, Texas, with participating in two schemes involving bribery, unlawful foreign influence, and money laundering. Congressman Cuellar and Imelda Cuellar made their initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dena Palermo in Houston.” – the DOJ announced on Friday.
“According to court 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 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.” the DOJ said.
BREAKING: Democrat Congressman Henry Cuellar and his wife have been charged by the DOJ for allegedly taking $600,000 in bribes from an oil & gas company owned and controlled by the government of Azerbaijan.
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 3, 2024
That's now two Democrats in Congress indicted for taking foreign bribes. pic.twitter.com/YgYHnE4IZZ
According to the DOJ, Cuellar and his wife are each charged with the following offenses and if convicted, are facing a maximum of 204 years in prison.
- 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 with a penalty of five years in prison for each count.
- Two counts of bribery of a federal official with a penalty of 15 years in prison for each count.
- Two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud with a penalty of 20 years in prison for each count.
- Two counts of violating the ban on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal with a penalty of two years in prison for each count.
- One count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering with a penalty of 20 years in prison.
- Five counts of money laundering with a penalty of 20 years in prison for each count.
Now Cuellar is facing life in prison.
Democratic Representative Cuellar, serving his ninth term representing a district along the US-Mexico border in Texas, had previously criticized both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for allowing illegal aliens to invade the United States.
Shortly after speaking out against the Biden administration, Cuellar was raided by the FBI and subpoenaed in 2022. Subsequently, federal authorities began issuing subpoenas seeking records related to Cuellar, his wife Imelda, and campaign staffers.
Rep. Cuellar is the second sitting Democrat to be indicted on bribery charges.
Back in September of last year, Breaking Digest reported that Democrat U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were indicted on bribery charges.
An indictment filed against Menendez and his wife Nadine outlines how the couple received hundreds of thousands of dollars from three businessmen in exchange for influencing the State Department to support their business interests in Egypt. The bribes included cash, gold, home mortgage payments, “compensation for a low-or-no-show job,” a luxury vehicle, and “other things of value.”
