Henry Cuellar, a Democrat Congressman, was charged by the Department of Justice over corruption and serving as a foreign agent. Cuellar allegedly received funds from the Azerbaijan government to shill for their interests.
His wife was also indicted for these acts, which include a litany of charges such as wire fraud and money laundering. They could spend decades in prison if convicted, though chances are high that they will cut a deal. The Washington Post says:
The 68-year-old congressman and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, are accused of setting up front companies that entered into sham contracts with the two entities, the indictment said.
According to the indictment, Cuellar agreed to use his position as a congressman to positively influence U.S. foreign policies for Azerbaijan. In exchange for the Mexican bank bribes, Cuellar agreed to push policies that would benefit the bank, the indictment says.
Azerbaijan has had an active foreign policy recently, making it logical for them to peddle influence in the United States. With a hostile relationship with Iran and Armenia, Azerbaijan has strong connections to Turkey and delicate ties with Russia. Fox News continues:
“The bribe payments were allegedly laundered, pursuant to sham consulting contracts, through a series of front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar, who performed little to 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, Congressman Cuellar allegedly agreed to influence legislative activity and to advise and pressure high-ranking U.S. Executive Branch officials regarding measures beneficial to the bank.”
They each face two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery of a federal official and to have a public official act as an agent of a foreign principal, two counts of bribery of a federal official, two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, two counts of violating the ban on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal, one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering, and five counts of money laundering.
This is probably only the tip of the iceberg in terms of Congressional corruption. Robert Menendez, Democrat Senator from New Jersey, has been accused of doing similar acts in the service of Egypt.
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