WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife were indicted on conspiracy and bribery charges Friday in connection with a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into ties between American business leaders and the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan.

From 2014 to 2021, Cuellar and his wife accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico, and in exchange, Cuellar agreed to advance the interests of the country and the bank in the U.S., according to the indictments.

Among other things, Cuellar agreed to influence legislation favorable to Azerbaijan and deliver a pro-Azerbaijan speech on the floor of the U.S. House, the indictment states.

The longtime Democratic congressman released a statement Friday saying he and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, “are innocent of these allegations.”

“Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas,” Cuellar said. “Before I took 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.

“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 hear our side.”

Cuellar was at one time the co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus; and he had traveled to Azerbaijan in 2013.

Two years later, Cuellar’s office announced an agreement between a Texas university and an organization called the Assembly of Friends of Azerbaijan for the purposes of collaborating on oil and gas research and education.

Follow NEWSnet on Facebook and X platform to get our headlines in your social feeds.

Copyright 2024 NEWSnet and The Associated Press. All rights reserved.