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Representative Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, speaks during a hearing of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee on April 10, 2024.
Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife are accused of accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from two foreign companies, according to an indictment in federal court in Texas.
The scheme ran from late 2014 through at least November 2021, according to the indictment.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the indictment, which was first reported by NBC News.
Cuellar said in a statement Friday: “I want to make it clear that both he and his wife are innocent of these allegations. Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas.”
Cuellar said in a statement that his actions in Congress were “in the interest of the American people” and vowed to continue his bid for re-election in November.
In a statement, he implicated his wife Imelda.
“In addition to being a wonderful wife and mother, she is also an accomplished businesswoman with two degrees. She has spent her career in banking, taxation, and consulting,” Cuellar said. Told. “Her claim that she is neither qualified nor hardworking is wrong and offensive.”
Cuellar also said he would “aggressively” seek legal advice and the opinion of a national law firm from the House Ethics Committee and seek a meeting with federal prosecutors “to explain the facts” before taking any action. said.
“The actions I took in Congress were consistent with those of many of my colleagues and were in the interest of the American people,” Cuellar said. “Furthermore, we have requested a meeting with prosecutors in Washington, D.C., to explain the facts, but they have refused to discuss the case with us or hear our side of the story. did.”
Cuellar’s home and campaign office in Laredo, Texas, were searched by the FBI in 2022. The charges against Mr. Cuellar have not yet been made public.
The National Republican Congressional Committee immediately called on Mr. Cuellar to resign.
“If his colleagues truly believe in putting ‘the people over politics’, they will demand that he resign. If he does not, they will not allow his comments about the public service to be put on paper.” He is a hypocrite who does not deserve to be blamed,” NRCC spokeswoman Delaney Bomer said in a statement.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
