House Ethics forms subcommittee to investigate Cuellar's alleged bribery scheme

The House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday that it will launch its own investigation into federal charges of foreign influence and corruption filed against Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar.

Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., will lead the investigative subcommittee, while Rep. Glenn F. Ivey, D-Md., will serve as ranking member. Reps. Ben Cline, R-Va., and Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., will also serve on the subcommittee.

The goal is “to determine whether Rep. Cuellar solicited or accepted bribes, gratuities, or improper gifts; acted as a foreign agent; violated federal money laundering laws; abused his official position for personal gain; and/or made false statements or omissions in public statements filed with the House,” the committee said in a statement.

Cuellar has denied the allegations. “I respect the work of the House Ethics Committee,” he said in an emailed statement Wednesday. “I am innocent of these allegations, and everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas.”

Under House rules, the ethics committee has 30 days after a member is indicted to form an investigative subcommittee or report to the House why it refused to form one.

“The Committee is aware of the risks associated with dual investigations and is in communication with the Department of Justice to mitigate potential risks while respecting the Committee's obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House,” the statement continued.

Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, were indicted by the Justice Department in late April for two alleged schemes. The unsealed indictment, released earlier this month, accuses Cuellar and his wife of receiving approximately $600,000 in bribes between 2014 and 2021 from the Azerbaijani government and a anonymous foreign bank headquartered in Mexico.

“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,” a Department of Justice press release said.

“In exchange for the bribes paid by the Mexican bank, Congressman Cuellar allegedly agreed to influence legislative activity and advise and lobby senior officials in the U.S. executive branch on measures beneficial to the bank,” the press release continued.

The indictment comes more than two years after the FBI searched Cuellar's home, apparently as part of a federal investigation linked to Azerbaijan.

The litany of federal criminal charges against the Cuellars includes five counts of money laundering, two counts of bribing a federal official and two counts of violating the ban on public officials acting as agents of a principal foreigner, according to the Justice Department.

Cuellar released a statement at the time the charges were announced, maintaining his and his wife's innocence. He also reaffirmed his intention to run for office this fall. Cuellar has represented Texas' 28th District — which includes parts of San Antonio and extends south to the U.S.-Mexico border — since 2005.

The seat is rated “likely Democratic” by Inside Elections. Cuellar will face Republican Jay Furman, a military veteran who said he was pushed to run because of the “illegality” of the government's response to COVID-19 and the situation at the southern border, according to the Texas Tribune.

Cuellar is a conservative Democrat and the last member of his party in the House to oppose abortion rights. Most of his Democratic colleagues, who are seeking to regain the majority in the next Congress, have so far refrained from calling on Cuellar to resign.

Ryan Tarinelli and Michael Macagnone contributed to this report.