Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife allegedly took nearly $600,000 in bribes, indictment says

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Fri May 3, 2024, 02:07 PM - Edit history (3)

Source: CNN Politics

Updated 2:00 PM EDT, Fri May 3, 2024


Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife have been charged with accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities, according to an indictment in federal court in Texas.

The alleged scheme took place from late 2014 through at least November 2021, the indictment says. The Justice Department declined to comment on the indictment, which was first reported by NBC News.

In a statement on Friday, Cuellar said: “I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations. Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas.” Cuellar said in his statement that actions he took in Congress were “in the interest of the American people” and vowed to continue his bid for reelection in November.

In his statement, he suggested his wife, Imelda, was involved. “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,” Cuellar said. “The allegation that she is anything but qualified and hard working is both wrong and offensive.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/03/politics/henry-cuellar-indictment-doj/index.html

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Short article at post time.

Article updated.

Previous articles/headline -

Justice Department expected to announce indictment against Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar

Updated 12:18 PM EDT, Fri May 3, 2024


The Justice Department on Friday is expected to announce the indictment of US Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

Cuellar's home and campaign office in Laredo, Texas, were raided by the FBI in 2022. The charges against Cuellar are not yet publicly available. The Justice Department declined to comment on the expected indictment, which was first reported by NBC News.

In a statement on Friday, Cuellar said: "I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations. Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas." Cuellar said in his statement that actions he took in Congress were "in the interest of the American people" and vowed to continue his bid for reelection in November.

In his statement, he suggested his wife, Imelda, was involved. "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," Cuellar said. "The allegation that she is anything but qualified and hard working is both wrong and offensive."

Updated 11:56 AM EDT, Fri May 3, 2024


The Justice Department on Friday is expected to announce the indictment of US Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

Cuellar's home and campaign office in Laredo, Texas, were raided by the FBI in 2022. The charges against Cuellar are not yet publicly available. The Justice Department declined to comment.

In a statement on Friday, Cuellar said: "I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations. Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas." NBC News first reported the Justice Department's plans. Cuellar said in his statement that actions he took in Congress were "in the interest of the American people" and vowed to continue his bid for reelection in November.

In his statement, he suggested his wife, Imelda, was involved. "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," Cuellar said. "The allegation that she is anything but qualified and hard working is both wrong and offensive."

Original article -

Updated 11:40 AM EDT, Fri May 3, 2024


The Justice Department on Friday is expected to announce the indictment of US Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

Cuellar's home and campaign office in Laredo, Texas, were raided by the FBI in 2022. The charges against Cuellar are not yet publicly available.

In a statement on Friday, Cuellar said: "I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations. Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas."

"Let me be clear, I'm running for re-election and will win this November," he added at the end of his statement. The Justice Department declined to comment.

[ColinC]

1. I think this is going to go firmly in the R column

I know there was a strong effort to oust him before these revelations but the candidate would have possibly been too far left to win the district. Perhaps this is an opportunity to see if that is true or not?

[speak easy]

2. "Henry Cuellar Lone Democrat to Vote Against Abortion Rights"

https://www.newsweek.com/henry-cuellar-lone-democrat-vote-against-abortion-rights-bill-passes-house-1632551

[Timewas]

3. So basically

A DINO ........

[Jose Garcia]

19. He voted with the Democratic caucus over 96% of the time in the last Congress

https://projects.propublica.org/represent/members/C001063/votes-against-party/117

[FakeNoose]

29. No, but he might have been setup by unethical politicos

Since he's from a Latino background, it's a safe assumption that he was raised Catholic. Whether he voted against abortion for that reason, I wouldn't know.

I think we need to find out more about this before jumping to conclusions.

[riversedge]

4. Oh crap. Sad to see this.

[Voltaire2]

8. why?

[LeftInTX]

10. Seat will flip to Republican. Is that a good thing?

[Voltaire2]

11. Or not.

But it at least ought to give an actual Democrat an opportunity.

[LeftInTX]

12. I'm familiar with the district. Cuellar is gonna be on the ballot in November.

If he leaves the race before November, it's too late to put another Democrat on the November ballot. If he leaves after the November election (assuming he wins), Abbott will hold a special election. Seat will very likely flip to GOP. The Democrats trend conservative in the district.

[NanaCat]

15. WTF

Where did you get the idea that the Ds down there are 'more conservative?' You can't judge them by how they vote for a conservative D like Cuellar, because he doesn't win on his policies--it's on his name recognition. The Cuellars are similar to the Kennedys in Laredo, so he gets votes for that reason; however, if he's out of office, then the locals will likely vote D again, even for a more liberal one.

You don't understand the district if you're confusing the vote for Cuellar with support for his personal stances.

[NanaCat]

13. That's not a guaranteed outcome.

He wins on his name recognition down there, more than anything else. If his case drags out until after the election, he can still win his D+3 district. The GQP is not very popular in his district.

If the trial doesn't happen until after the election and he's convicted, then the seat will be open for a special election. Again, it's D+3, so whoever runs for that as a Democrat has a strong chance of winning.

Don't declare the sky fallen until it actually happens.

[LeftInTX]

14. I'm familiar with his district. It's mostly suburban and rural. I live in NW San Antonio.

It does have a progressive pocket in the downtown San Antonio area. But that's about it when it comes to progressives.
Bexar County is a big factor in this district. But the Bexar County region includes Kirby, Universal City, China Grove. His district also includes parts of Guadalupe County, which is super red.

Largest populations who voted in 2022: Bexar County 49,000. Webb County 46,000, Guadalupe County 21,000



Just to compare: The R's were able to flip this Texas House seat from blue to red in 2021. The Republican also won in 2022. The seat is entirely in Bexar County.

[NanaCat]

16. Laredo is not rural.

Not in the least, and certainly not anymore. I realise it's not San Antonio, but it's still a respectably-sized city of over 250,000. It's also not conservative. As with most border towns, people are pretty loyal to the D party.

The parts of San Antonio it goes through are on the east and south side. Are you aware that the east side of San Antonio is where many of the city's black people live? It's why the Spurs built that ugly arena over there. And you do realise that the south side is heavily Hispanic and thus strongly Democratic...right?

I lived in the 28th, back when it started turning purple and flipping between D and R for a bit. I think my neighbourhood is now in D-23 with the not Julián Castro twin, but Bonilla's old office was a stone's throw from where I lived. After Texas redrew its lines, it's no longer an R district, but D+3.

Laredo and SA's east and south sides are large enough to cancel out the hick vote in between, so the Democrats are usually able to overcome the rural vote and hold their own in this district, quite well.

[LeftInTX]

17. Yes, I am familiar with the East Side. But this district includes a significant chunk of Guadalupe County.

South Bexar County can be blue or red. It's iffy. The near South Side is blue, but once you get to 410, it trends red. We all volunteered for Frank Ramirez's HD 118 special election in November 2021. Back then HD 118 was the near South Side in Bexar County. The district flipped to R. It was a shock and a loss.

[totodeinhere]

27. No it's not a good thing Of course.

The last thing we need in Congress is a Democratic sleazeball. We already have Menendez in that category and now we have this guy.

[live love laugh]

5. Equivalent of Manchin no doubt... if not worse.

[speak easy]

9. Not Manchin.

Much as I disagree with him, Cuellar always stepped up when Speaker Pelosi needed his vote.

[LeftInTX]

6. OMG! I wonder what the charges are? This gonna be interesting.

Unfortunately, he will be the Democratic candidate unless he resigns.

His sister is in a Democratic primary runoff for a Texas House seat. (The longtime D rep from the Uvalde district is retiring). She is a former tax assessor for Webb Country. However, the region is trending R. A Cuellar might be able to pull a win in November. Now I don't know....

[Voltaire2]

7. Good. He is shit. He's nominally our shit, but shit all the same.

[Wonder Why]

18. So, does he represent Menendez, Texas in the House or not?

[SunImp]

20. American politicians should only support America

Root out foreign influence from congress

[Bettie]

21. I guess the big question is: Is he actually corrupt?

If he did this, he should not be in office.

[muriel_volestrangler]

22. Which 2 "foreign entities" could he have been worth $600,000 to?

Does "entities" include foreign-owned companies here, or does it basically mean countries?

[LeftInTX]

24. Azerbaijan and a bank in Mexico

Azerbaijani energy company and a Mexican bank. However, energy is deeply entwined with the govt of Azerbaijan. As for the bank in Mexico, I have no idea if there is any connection to their government. Texas does alot of business with businesses in Monterrey, so it could have been a business deal thing.

Or maybe the funds from Azerbaijan were funneled into a Mexican bank??

I don't think lobbying for a Mexican bank would get you in this much trouble. OTOH..Why even lobby for a Mexican bank unless you have a vested interest in the bank???

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/03/henry-cuellar-texas-indicted-doj/

[NJCher]

31. Caviar diplomacy?

from your article:

snip

Azerbaijan is known for lavish spending on foreign lawmakers to advance its interests. The country has reportedly spent billions on treating European lawmakers in a practice derisively known as "caviar diplomacy." The country spends about half a million dollars a year on lobbying in Washington, according to OpenSecrets.

Azerbaijan has had interest in influencing Western governments due to tense relations with its neighbors. The country had been engaged in a long-running border dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave made up of largely ethnic Armenians, until Azerbaijan forcibly retook control of the territory last year. The dispute had been a significant roadblock to peace in the region since the fall of the Soviet Union, with European, American and Russian governments struggling with the issues for decades.

snip

This could get very complicated.

[LeftInTX]

33. It's about oil, money and power. Azerbaijan is thuggy. Yes, cavier from the Caspian Sea.

They've had quite a lobby in DC and have been lobbying Texas politicians for several decades. They were a big supporter of Rick Perry and he was of them. (Probably George Bush too) Azerbaijan has alot of oil and Texas has alot of resources for countries with oil. I don't think this scam is connected to Russia or Putin etc.

[hamsterjill]

34. Cuellar was hand picked by Jim Leininger when he was first running.

He's never been a real Democrat.

Leininger has a lot of business in Mexico.

Not alleging anything, but just too obvious to overlook.

[LeftInTX]

35. Here's the indictment:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24635272-cuellar-indictment-file-copy

I thought maybe the Mexican bank was related to the Azerbaijan thing (maybe Cuellar was funneling money from Azerbaijan to the bank and then to his shell companies) . However, it seems like the Mexican bank thing is a stand-alone charge. I was like, really? It's pretty gross. I'm curious about the San Antonio business associate who has ties to the bank.

Everyone knows the campaign manager referred to in the indictment. (Good riddance)

A dark-money group formed by twice-failed mayoral candidate Greg Brockhouse spent money in support of a South Texas congressman whose Laredo home and office were raided by the FBI this week.

Brockhouse, who says he left the Voter Education Foundation last year, said he was unaware of any connection between the secretive group and an ongoing FBI investigation of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat whose district stretches from Laredo to San Antonio. Tom Marks, a San Antonio-based GOP operative who replaced Brockhouse on the group’s board last year, likewise said he didn’t know of any links.

Another officer of the group is Colin Strother, a longtime aide of Cuellar’s who was paid to consult on the congressman’s re-election campaign as recently as August, Federal Election Commission records show. Strother was an officer of the foundation when Brockhouse created it in September 2020. Last month, the foundation — a a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that does not disclose its donors — ran a TV ad attacking Jessica Cisneros, Cuellar’s primary challenger, as the “South Texas Jobs Grinch,” Marks confirmed.

Online publication The Intercept first reported the link between Strother and the dark-money group. ABC News reported Friday the FBI search of Cuellar’s home and campaign office is related to the former Soviet state of Azerbaijan.


https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/FBI-probe-link-Greg-Brockhouse-group-Henry-Cuellar-16795236.php]

Indicted on bribery, laundering counts, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar denies wrongdoing
While working for the foreign bank, he’s accused of using two unnamed associates with San Antonio ties as “middlemen” to launder payments.
snip
The indictment refers to an unnamed “longtime associate” in San Antonio that it says Cuellar brought into the deal “to further disguise and legitimate the bribe payments” in exchange for a fee.

Together, Cuellar and the associate conspired to involve the congressman’s campaign manager and former chief of staff to help disguise payments directed to Cuellar’s wife, the indictment alleges. It was unclear whether the campaign manager was aware of the source of the funds.

Colin Strother, a campaign manager and former chief of staff to Cuellar, did not respond to calls and text messages seeking comment.
https://sanantonioreport.org/rep-henry-cuellar-denies-wrongdoing-justice-department-indictment/

Cuellar and his wife are also accused of accepting bribes in exchange for advancing policies that would help a Mexican commercial bank’s business interests. Using a Mexican government official as an intermediary, the Cuellars allegedly received over $200,000 in bribes from the bank, according to the indictment.

Cuellar allegedly wrote to officials at the Treasury Department to set up mechanisms to help cross-border transactions crucial to the bank’s business. After federal law went into effect designed at stopping money laundering, many U.S. financial institutions pulled back partnerships with Mexican banks due to the high risk of illicit transactions.

At one point, the Cuellars used Henry Cuellar’s campaign manager and former chief of staff as an intermediary to disguise the payments, according to the indictment. The indictment does not identify the campaign manager by name, but notes the person was a resident of Buda, Texas.

Cuellar also allegedly tipped off the vice chairman of the Mexican bank of a bill that would pause the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from making new regulations on the payday lending industry for two years. Cuellar then coordinated with a U.S.-based subsidiary of the Mexican bank on language in defense of the bill. The subsidiary was a payday lending company.
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/03/henry-cuellar-texas-indicted-doj/

[LauraInLA]

23. Any bets on which foreign entities?

[LeftInTX]

25. Azerbaijan and a bank in Mexico.

[Bev54]

26. The dems may have the odd crook compared to the many criminals within the republican party

but what I noticed is that the dems partner with their wives, like the Menendez couple. So are the women corrupting them or are they corrupting their wives or do they just find each other. Is it because republicans don't even talk to their wives, let alone think they are smart enough to crime with them? Just an observation.

[NJCher]

32. that's been a topic for discussion

at my house, too. In the Menendez case, Nadine had these relationships with the NJ businessmen before she married Menendez. Could it be possible that the women, using your expression, are corrupting the men? Could it be possible that these are setups?

Now we have this situation with the Cuellars.

Also, now we have the Menendez case being severed meaning Nadine says she has to have an operation so her trial has been scheduled for July, while Menendez's will start as planned in May.

Here are two interesting paragraphs from he NBC story on this development:

Lawyers for the senator said in a motion to sever that he “intends to present a defense arguing (in part) that he lacked the requisite knowledge of much of the conduct and statements of his wife, Nadine.”

“By this defense, Senator Menendez’s legal team may have to argue, in effect, that any unlawful conduct — and we are aware of none —involved the actions of others (including Nadine), not the Senator,” his lawyers wrote.

NBC story

Hmmmm.

[MOMFUDSKI]

28. At least we know how many congresscritters

get so rich while in office.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

30. House Democrat indicted by DOJ, undermining GOP talking points

As a Democratic member of Congress is indicted on corruption allegations, the idea of a "weaponized" Justice Department has been thoroughly discredited.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/house-democrat-indicted-doj-undermining-gop-talking-points-rcna150623

But as the political world digests the latest instance of a sitting member of Congress getting indicted, it’s also worth pausing to reflect on the bigger picture.

As things currently stand, the Justice Department, under the leadership of Attorney General Merrick Garland, is:

prosecuting President Joe Biden’s son;

prosecuting an incumbent Democratic senator, New Jersey’s Bob Menendez, during his re-election bid;

prosecuting an incumbent Democratic congressman, Texas’ Cuellar, during his re-election bid;
investigating an incumbent Democratic congresswoman, Missouri’s Cori Bush, during her re-election bid.

For good measure, it’s probably worth mentioning that the Justice Department also appears to be investigating Eric Adams, the high-profile Democratic mayor of New York City.

And yet, despite these developments, one of the animating concepts in contemporary Republican politics is that rascally Democrats have “weaponized” federal law enforcement to punish GOP figures and shield Democrats from accountability. The Justice Department and the FBI, leading Republican voices insist, are little more than political tools for the Biden White House and its fiendish allies......

Indeed, if Biden and his team were trying to weaponize federal law enforcement to benefit Democrats, they’ve proved themselves to be incredibly bad at it.

In advance of the 2018 elections, Donald Trump complained bitterly about federal law enforcement charging two of his congressional allies, and the then-president whined about the Justice Department undermining the Republican Party’s electoral plans.

Six years later, federal law enforcement is prosecuting two Democratic members of Congress, potentially undermine their party’s electoral plans, and Biden is taking a responsible, hands-off approach.