BREAKING: Democrat Congressman Indicted By DOJ

The Justice Department has indicted a Democratic congressman from Texas, according to NBC News.

Sources say Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), who has served in Congress since 2005, was indicted on Friday, roughly two years after his official and campaign offices were raided by federal authorities exploring connections to U.S. businessmen with ties to Azerbaijan. He and his wife have been charged with taking $600,000 in bribes from the country in exchange for official acts as a Congressman. Joshua Berman, a lawyer for Cuellar, said at the time that his client was not the subject of the government’s investigation. The Democrat co-chairs the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus.

Sources added that the congressman’s staff was heard calling other offices in Washington Friday morning asking how to handle the situation.

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One year after the January 2022 raid, Rep. 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.” Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who was overseeing House Democrats’ midterm election strategy, stood behind him. “I support my incumbents,” Pelosi said during a visit to Austin in March of 2022. “I support every one of them, from right to left. That is what I do.” Cuellar narrowly avoided a primary defeat to a more progressive challenger and staved off a Republican challenger in the general.

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Cuellar, who represents parts of San Antonio following redistricting, is in a bluer district now but may become more vulnerable in this year’s elections. He faces two Republican challengers who will compete in May for a chance to face him in November. The 66-year-old lawyer is a former customs broker and Texas Secretary of State. He has served in the moderate Blue Dog Democrat caucus since first winning election in 2004.

The indictment of a second Democrat is not good news for a party suffering from an unpopular president and progressive unrest across the country. Cuellar is the second sitting Democrat to face charges. In September, federal authorities charged U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) with using his power on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to steer business toward political allies. A raid of his home revealed gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash socked away in hiding places, prompting Menendez to claim that he always carried getaway assets as a result of his upbringing in communist Cuba.

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