Democrat Rep. Indicted on Federal Bribery Charges

The Department of Justice indicted U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and his wife Imelda on Friday with multiple charges for alleged conspiracy and bribery uncovered through a federal investigation into American businessmen with ties to Azerbaijan.

According to the indictment unsealed Friday in the Southern District of Texas, Cuellar and his wife accepted close to $600,000 in bribes from a state-owned oil and gas company in Azerbaijan and a bank headquartered in Mexico City between 2014 and 2021. In return, Cuellar advocated for the interests of Azerbaijan and the Mexican bank in the United States.

The DOJ alleges that the Cuellars’ scheme also involved “unlawful foreign influence and money laundering” carried out “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.”

A press release from the DOJ states that Cuellar’s end of the alleged bribery scheme included an agreement to “use his office to influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan” and “influence legislative activity and to advise and pressure high-ranking U.S. Executive Branch officials regarding measures beneficial to the bank” in Mexico. (Read more from “Democrat Rep. Indicted on Federal Bribery Charges” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr