Headline Roundup • May 3rd, 2024
Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar Charged With Conspiracy, Bribery
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Department of Justice charged Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) with bribery, conspiracy, and more.
Details: Cuellar is charged with conspiracy, bribery, money laundering, acting as a foreign agent, and more. The Department of Justice alleges that Cuellar, who has represented Texas district since 2005, accepted $600,000 in foreign bribes from 2014 to 2021 from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a Mexican bank. In exchange for the bribes, the DOJ alleges, Cuellar advanced the interests of Azerbaijan on Capitol Hill, at one point giving a speech before congress praising the country. For the Mexican bank, Cuellar allegedly pressured President Joe Biden against anti-money-laundering efforts.
Key Quote: Cuellar denied the charges, releasing a statement reading, “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, “Before I took any action. I 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.”
How the Media Covered It: The New York Times (Lean Left bias) noted that the charges “cast instant doubt on the party’s chances of holding a district.” The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (Center bias) both noted that Cuellar is one of the more conservative members of the Democratic Party. Coverage from Fox News (Right bias) did not note this.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat in a crucial swing district, and his wife were charged with participating in a yearslong $600,000 bribery scheme involving Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank, according to a federal indictment unsealed in Houston on Friday.
The accusations against Mr. Cuellar, 68, and his wife Imelda, 67, center on allegations of bribery and money laundering in connection with their efforts on behalf of an oil and gas company owned by Azerbaijan’s leaders as well as an unnamed bank based in Mexico City, according to the 54-page...
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Zuma Press
Conservative Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar, who represents a competitive district on the Texas-Mexico border, was charged Friday alongside his wife on allegations that they took nearly $600,000 in foreign bribes, the latest development in a long-running FBI probe examining the congressman’s work with Azerbaijan.
From 2014 to 2021, Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, accepted bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a Mexican bank, in exchange for boosting their interests on Capitol Hill, prosecutors said in an indictment charging them with conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and other charges.
They...
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The Department of Justice indicted Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas on conspiracy and bribery charges Friday.
Cuellar's wife Imelda has also been indicted in the investigation connected to $600,000 in bribes they allegedly accepted between 2014 and 2021 from an Azerbaijan-based energy company and a bank in Mexico City to advance the former Soviet republic's interests in the U.S.
Cuellar and his wife have been released on bond, Fox News has confirmed.
The Cuellars are accused in two schemes involving bribery, unlawful foreign influence and money laundering, the unsealed...
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