On Friday, Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, were indicted on conspiracy and bribery charges.
U.S. Department of Justice announced the charges stem from an investigation into ties between American business leaders and Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic.
According to the indictments, from 2014 to 2021, the Cuellars accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico.
In exchange, Rep. Cuellar agreed to advance the interests of Azerbaijan and the bank in the U.S., including influencing legislation favorable to Azerbaijan and delivering a pro-Azerbaijan speech on the floor of the U.S. House.
Rep. Cuellar released a statement on Friday, asserting that he and his wife “are innocent of these allegations” and said that everything he has done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas.
Cuellar also stated that he proactively sought legal advice from the House Ethics Committee and a national law firm before taking any action. He further claimed that he and his wife requested a meeting with the Washington D.C. prosecutors to explain the facts, but they refused to discuss the case or hear their side.
“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 Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement.
“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,” DOJ said.
“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.”
Cuellar, who was at one time the co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, had his house in Laredo searched by the FBI in 2022. At that time, his attorney stated that Cuellar was not the target of the investigation.
The search was part of a broader investigation related to Azerbaijan, which involved FBI agents serving subpoenas and conducting interviews in Washington, D.C., and Texas, according to an Associated Press report.
Federal disclosures show that Cuellar traveled to Azerbaijan in 2013. Two years later, his office announced an agreement between a Texas university and an organization called the Assembly of Friends of Azerbaijan to collaborate on oil and gas research and education.
Cuellar, one of the last anti-abortion Democrats in Congress, narrowly defeated progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros by fewer than 300 votes in a primary race in 2022.
If convicted, Cuellar and his wife could spend years — or even decades — behind bars.
Stephen Dietrich and The Associated Press contributed to this article