In a press release issued on Friday, May 3, the United States Department of Justice announced that it had brought charges against Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife on charges of conspiracy and bribery stemming from bribes the two allegedly took between 2014 and 2021 from an energy company in Azerbaijan and a bank in Mexico City. The alleged purpose of the alleged bribes was to influence US policy toward Azerbaijan.
As background, Azerbaijan is a former Soviet Republic with a predominantly Muslim population that is allied with Turkey and borders Armenia. Azerbaijan has waged numerous small-scale wars with Armenia in recent years over a disputed region between the two, and America has largely sided with Azerbaijan despite Armenia being a majority Christian country, with the likely reason being Azerbaijan’s natural resources and Armenia’s historical ties to Russia.
In any case, the DOJ announced in its Friday press release that Rep. Cuellar and his wife had been charged in connection with the alleged scheme. Beginning the press release, it said, “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.”
Continuing, it described the alleged bribes, first describing from whom they allegedly came. It said, “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 DOJ then described for what purpose the bribes were delivered, describing how they impacted Rep. Cuellar’s policy advocations. It said, “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.”
Next, describing the charges, the press release provided, “Congressman Cuellar and Imelda Cuellar are each charged with the following offenses and if convicted, face maximum penalties as indicated: 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, five years in prison on each count; two counts of bribery of a federal official, 15 years in prison on each count; two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, 20 years in prison on each count; two counts of violating the ban on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal, two years in prison on each count; one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering, 20 years in prison; and five counts of money laundering, 20 years in prison on each count.”
Rep. Cuellar, in a statement released through his campaign, denied any wrongdoing. He said, “Before I took any 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. The actions I took in Congress were consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people.”
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Continuing, Rep. Cuellar claimed, “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.”
Watch Rep. Cuellar comment on the matter here:
Featured image credit: By U.S. Customs and Border Protection – 200227-H-NI589-098, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88003889