Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) will be indicted on unknown charges in the coming days. It is not clear what the exact circumstances will be, but Cuellar has been a thorn in the side of the Biden administration for being one of the few consistently anti-abortion Democrats in Congress.
The representative said in a statement that he did nothing wrong.
News: Henry Cuellar says he’s innocent as @NBCNews reported he’s about to be indicted by DOJ.
“I’m running for reelection and will win this November” pic.twitter.com/5k3NaXUJRz
— Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) May 3, 2024
In the statement, he said that he wanted to “be clear that both my wife and I were innocent of these allegations. Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas.”
Cuellar said that before he took any action he “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.” He said that his actions “were consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people.”
Cuellar added that he requested a meeting with prosecutors to “explain the facts and they refused to discuss the case with us or hear our side.”
“These allegations have been difficult on my family. But, with your prayers, we will overcome,” he said. The representative also added that he planned to run for another term this November and said that he would win.
Two years ago the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued subpoenas as part of an ongoing investigation into the representative’s relationship with business in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan.
Federal law enforcement officials raised Cuellar’s home and sought records in relation to himself, his wife Imelda and at least one member of his campaign staff. The raid occurred after the decision of a grand jury.
The raid sought records regarding the potential “work, act, favor or service” rendered by the member of Congress regarding foreign companies. Cuellar has previously been the co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus and has worked with the country’s ambassador.
The investigation included work from the DOJ’s Public Integrity Unity, which also investigates bribery.
