A grand jury indicted Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and his wife, Imelda, on bribery and money laundering charges linked to Azerbaijan and Mexico.
The DOJ unsealed the indictment today.
The DOJ alleges the Cuellars “agreed to and did accept at least $598,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: Foreign Oil Company-1, an oil and gas company wholly owned and controlled by the Government of Azerbaijan, and Foreign Bank-1, a bank headquartered in Mexico City.”
By the way, Cuellar has sat on the House Committee on Appropriations since 2013.
The scheme started in December 2014 and went through at least November 2021:
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.
Henry and Imelda face these charges:
Officials accused Cuellar of using his influence in the House in exchange for bribes to benefit Azerbaijan, including:
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought over the Nogorno-Karabakh region from 1988 to January 1, 2024.
The fighting escalated in 2020, leading to bloodshed and terror.
How Cuellar allegedly tried to help:
On April 11, 2016, HENRY CUELLAR wrote a letter to U.S. Official-1, a high ranking Executive Branch Official, accusing Armenia of being a “proxy” for Russia “to intimidate U.S. partners, including Azerbaijan,” and expressing support for “the withdrawal of the military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan,” meaning the Nagorno-Karabakh region. On April 12, 2016, one of HENRY CUELLAR’s staffers emailed the letter to Azerbaijani Diplomat-1 and stated that the letter “was sent to our White House legislative affairs contact.”
In 2020, a member of the Armenian caucus proposed an amendment to “appropriate $1.4 million for demining efforts in the region.” The DOJ alleges that Cuellar sent the Azbaijani diplomat a tweet from the Armenian Assembly claiming Cuellar withdrew the amendment.
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