WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is expected to announce the indictment of longtime Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, on Friday, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
Cuellar’s home and campaign office in Laredo, Texas, were raided in January 2022 as part of a federal investigation into Azerbaijan and a group of U.S. businessmen who have ties to the country, law enforcement said at the time. His office had pledged to cooperate with the investigation. In April, Cuellar’s lawyer, Joshua Berman, told some news outlets that federal authorities informed him he was not the target of the investigation.
Cuellar is a one-time co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the indictment was related to the 2022 raid. The Justice Department declined to comment.
Cuellar’s staff were calling other member offices Friday seeking advice on how to handle the situation, one source with knowledge of those calls told NBC News.
In a statement Friday, Cuellar denied any wrongdoing, saying that he had “proactively sought legal advice” from the House Ethics Committee, which had issued “more than one written opinion” about the matter. Much of his statement focused on his wife, Imelda Cuellar, though it wasn’t immediately clear why.
“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,” Cuellar said in his statement, later adding: “The actions I took in Congress were consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people …”
“Imelda and I have been married for 32 years. On top of being an amazing wife and mother, she’s an accomplished businesswoman with two degrees. She spent her career working with banking, tax, and consulting,” he continued. “The allegation that she is anything but qualified and hard working is both wrong and offensive.”
A defiant Cuellar also made clear he will seek re-election: “Let me be clear, I’m running for re-election and will win this November.”
A year after the raid on his home — which has not previously yielded arrests or charges — Cuellar told the Texas Tribune: “There has been no wrongdoing on my part. … My focus remains the same from my very first day in office: delivering results for Texans across my district.”
Despite the raid, Cuellar narrowly defeated a progressive challenger, Jessica Cisneros, in his 2022 primary and went on to win re-election to his seat that November. He didn’t face a primary challenger this year and will be on the ballot this November seeking his 11th term in Congress.
Two years ago, Cuellar easily defeated Republican nominee Cassy Garcia, 57% to 43%. His district became bluer when he picked up parts of San Antonio following redistricting. But the indictment will make Cuellar more vulnerable than in the past; in 2020, Joe Biden won Cuellar’s district over Donald Trump by 7 percentage points.
Two Republicans will face each other in a runoff election in late May for a chance to take on Cuellar in the fall.
“Henry Cuellar does not put Texas first, he puts himself first,” said Delanie Bomar, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “If his colleagues truly believe in putting ‘people over politics,’ they will call on him to resign. If not — they are hypocrites whose statements about public service aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.”
Cuellar, 66, a lawyer, is a former customs broker and Texas secretary of state. A member of the centrist Blue Dogs and New Democrat Coalition, Cuellar was elected to the House in 2004.
He’s the only Democrat left in Congress who opposes abortion rights — a position that has infuriated many in his party.
Daniel Barnes and Julie Tsirkin contributed.
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