DOJ charges Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, wife in $600,000 bribery scheme

May 3 (UPI) -- The Justice Department on Friday indicted Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and his wife on charges of conspiracy and accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from foreign entities.

The charges alleged Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company owned by the Azerbaijan government and a bank headquartered in Mexico City in exchange for political favors.

The scheme allegedly took place from 2014 to 2021, according to the indictment.

Cuellar allegedly "agreed to perform official acts in his capacity as a member of Congress, to commit acts in violation of his official duties, and to act as an agent of the government of Azerbaijan," according to the indictment.

Prosecutors alleged Cuellar agreed to influence U.S. policy through a "series of legislative measures relating to Azerbaijan's conflict with neighboring Armenia."

Cuellar is a former co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijani Caucus and met with Azerbaijani officials in that role.

Prosecutors also accused Cuellar of influencing federal financial industry regulations to benefit the Mexico City bank. He allegedly worked to pressure the executive branch on anti-money laundering enforcement practices that "threatened" the bank's business interest.

Imelda Cuellar allegedly provided sham consulting services to the two companies in order to launder the payments, while providing "little to no legitimate work under the contracts," according to prosecutors.

The Cuellars made an initial court appearance Friday in Houston and were released on a $100,000 bond. They face a mountain of federal charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery of a federal official, conspiracy to have a public official act as an agent of a foreign principal and money laundering.

The indictment was unsealed Friday afternoon after a whirlwind of speculation.

Cuellar earlier Friday issued a statement saying, "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."

He added, "Furthermore, we requested a meeting with the Washington, D.C., prosecutors to explain the facts and they refused to discuss the case with us or to hear our side."

He said he would run for re-election in November.

Before the indictment was released and without specifying the allegation, Cuellar said the allegation that his wife is "anything but qualified and hard-working is both wrong and offensive."

In a statement, the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee said, "Henry Cuellar does not put Texas first, he puts himself first. If his colleagues truly believe in putting 'people over politics,' they will call on him to resign. If not -- they are hypocrites whose statements about public service aren't worth the paper they're written on."

The Justice Department declined to comment. Cuellar said he has sought advice from the House Ethics Committee and a national law firm on how to respond.