Rep. Dean Phillips, Democrat of Minnesota, became the first House Democrat to call on Rep. Henry Cuellar, Democrat of Texas, to resign, hours after Cuellar resigned. charged with corruption and money laundering charges.
“While the bar for a federal indictment is high, trust in our government is low,” Phillips said in a statement posted to his social media. “That’s why indicted officeholders and candidates should resign or end their campaigns, including Sen. Bob Menendez, Donald Trump, and Rep. Henry Cuellar.”
Mendez, Also A Democrat, faces obstruction of justice charges related to corruption allegations. Former President Trump is on trial for alleged hush money payments he made before the 2016 election.
REP. TEXAS DEMOCRATIC. HENRY CUELLAR INDICATED BY DOJ FOR CHARGES OF COMPLICATION AND CORRUPTION
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, Democrat of Texas, was indicted Friday on corruption charges. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
THE Department of Justice Cuellar and his wife Imelda were charged Friday with conspiracy and corruption over $600,000 in bribes they allegedly accepted between 2014 and 2021 from an Azerbaijan-based energy company and a financial institution. Mexico City to promote the interests of the former Soviet republic in the United States.
Both have been released on bail, Fox News confirmed.
Federal law enforcement raided Cuellar’s home and office in 2022 as part of an investigation in a group of American businessmen and their ties to the country. The representative and his office agreed to cooperate with the investigation.
Cuellar released a statement Friday following reports of an upcoming indictment, saying he and his wife are innocent without specifying the charges.
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., is the first Democrat to call on fellow Democrat Cuellar to resign. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“I want to be clear that my wife and I are innocent of these allegations,” Cuellar wrote. “Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of Texas.”
THE Texas Representative specifically defended his wife and her qualifications, again without specifying the nature of the indictments.
SEN. BOB MANENDEZ MAY BLAME HIS WIFE NADINE IN FEDERAL CORRUPTION TRIAL: COURT DOCUMENTS
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., also faces federal charges. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
“Imelda and I have been married for 32 years. In addition to being an amazing wife and mother, she is an accomplished businesswoman with two degrees. She has spent her career working in banking, tax and The allegation that she is anything but qualified and hard working is both wrong and offensive,” he wrote.
Cuellar, 68, and his wife, 67, made their first appearance Friday before U.S. Judge Dena Palermo in Houston.
“The bribes were allegedly laundered, pursuant to false consulting contracts, through a series of shell companies and intermediaries within shell companies belonging to Imelda Cuellar, who only carried out little or no legitimate work under the contracts,” the DOJ said of the indictments.
“In exchange for the bribes paid by the Azerbaijani oil and gas company, Congressman Cuellar allegedly agreed to use his office to influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan. In exchange for the bribes paid by the Mexican bank, Deputy Cuellar would have agreed to influence legislative activity and to advise and pressure senior officials of the American executive branch regarding measures beneficial to the bank.
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They each face two counts of conspiracy to bribe a federal official and having a public official act as an agent for a foreign principal, two counts of bribery of a federal official, two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, two counts. counts of violating the prohibition on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal, one count of conspiracy to commit concealment of money laundering and five counts of money laundering.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram, Kelly Phares and Timothy HJ Nerozzi contributed to this report.
