Republicans are aiming their electoral cannons at Texas Rep. Henry Cuéllar's seat, looking to unseat the embattled lawmaker as his stance weakens following an indictment and the opening of a congressional investigation against him.
According to the Texas Tribune, the National Republican Congressional Committee added the lawmaker to its list of top targets, meaning that they will invest heavily in his district to increase their chances of flipping the seat in the elections. Cuéllar will face Republican Navy veteran Jay Furman in the elections for the state's 28th Congressional district.
The outlet explained that Republicans were initially intending to focus on other races, as Cuéllar defeated opponent Cassie García by 13 percentage points in 2022. Many Republicans were muted after Cuéllar's indictment in early May, but positions changed after Furman won his primary runoff last week.
"Texans are fed up with Henry Cuellar's corruption — only looking out for himself as their cost of living skyrockets and the border spirals out of control. These voters are ready for new leadership, and that's what Republicans will deliver to the 28th District when we flip this seat," NRCC spokesperson Delanie Bomar said in a statement.
Cuéllar and his wife have been accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from a Mexican bank and two state-run energy companies from Azerbaijan. A House Ethics Committee voted to open an investigation on the issue last week.
Concretely, the subcommittee will be able to investigate whether Cuéllar "solicited or accepted bribes, gratuities, or improper gifts; acted as a foreign agent; violated federal money laundering laws; misused his official position for private gain; and/or made false statements or omissions on public disclosure statements filed with the House."
Cuéllar again denied any wrongdoing after the announcement, saying that even though he "respects the work of the House Ethics Committee," he is "innocent of these allegations." "Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas," he added.
However, three different people have already taken plea deals in the context of the case, admitting to helping the Cuéllars in the bribery schemes. One of them is Irada Akhoundova, a woman from Houston who admitted to facilitating a $60,000 payment to Imelda Cuéllar.
She said she unlawfully acted as an agent of the Azerbaijani government and a state-run oil company, actions that represent a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Cuéllar allegedly agreed to influence legislation favorable to the former Soviet republic and deliver a friendly speech on the House floor in exchange for the payments. He was at one point the co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus and also traveled to the country in 2013.
The other two people who took guilty pleas are political consultants who admitted to being involved in the payments from Banco Azteca, the other entity accused of bribing Cuéllar. Between the both, the lawmaker allegedly took roughly $600,000.
In this case, Cuéllar allegedly took money from the bank in exchange for influencing the Department of Treasury to work around an anti money laundering policy that went against the bank's interests.
Cuéllar has so far refused to resign from his post and said he will continue doing his job, although he did step down from his only committee assignment. Both Cuéllar and his wife Imelda were released on $100,000 bail each. Their trial is set to start this summer, but it could be delayed as a result of pre-trial legal disputes.
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