EGN NEWS DESK
The House Ethics Committee has launched an investigation into Representative Henry Cuellar, Democrat of Texas, over allegations that he accepted bribes and dedicated misconduct in workplace, the panel stated on Wednesday.
Mr. Cuellar was indicted this month on federal fees that he participated in a yearslong, $600,000 bribery scheme involving Azerbaijan and a Mexican financial institution. After a member is charged criminally, House guidelines require that the Ethics Committee determine whether or not Congress also needs to examine the lawmaker’s conduct.
The panel voted unanimously to ascertain a four-member investigative subcommittee to find out whether or not Mr. Cuellar “solicited or accepted bribes, gratuities or improper items; acted as a overseas agent; violated federal cash laundering legal guidelines; misused his official place for personal acquire; and/or made false statements or omissions on public disclosure statements filed with the House.”
Representative Michael Guest, Republican of Mississippi and the chairman of the ethics panel, may even lead the subcommittee scrutinizing Mr. Cuellar’s conduct. Representative Glenn F. Ivey of Maryland would be the prime Democrat.
The Ethics Committee has typically chosen to halt its investigative work whereas federal prosecutors pursue a member of Congress, to keep away from getting in the best way of the Justice Department’s work. But lately it has adopted a extra aggressive stance.
After the panel launched a scathing report digging into the conduct of George Santos, a serial fabulist who on the time was representing New York as a Republican, the House voted to expel him.
The Ethics Committee “is conscious of the dangers related to twin investigations and is in communication with the Department of Justice to mitigate the potential dangers whereas nonetheless assembly the committee’s obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House,” the panel stated in a press release about Mr. Cuellar.
Federal prosecutors have accused Mr. Cuellar, 68, and his spouse Imelda, 67, of bribery and cash laundering in reference to their efforts on behalf of an oil and fuel firm owned by Azerbaijan’s leaders, in addition to an unnamed financial institution primarily based in Mexico City. Mr. Cuellar can be accused of performing as an agent of a overseas entity whereas a U.S. authorities official.
A consultant for Mr. Cuellar didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon the Ethics Committee’s investigation.
Mr. Cuellar has denied the costs within the federal indictment, refused to resign and vowed to run once more and win re-election. In a press release on Wednesday night, he declared his innocence.
“I respect the work of the House Ethics Committee,” he stated. “As I stated on May 3, I’m harmless of those allegations, and every part I’ve executed in Congress has been to serve the folks of South Texas.”
A local of Laredo, Texas, he has served within the House since 2005 and amassed appreciable energy in his district and on Capitol Hill, the place he has established a report as a center-leaning Democrat keen to interrupt along with his personal party, together with by being the lone Democratic opponent of abortion rights within the House.
On Tuesday night time, Jay Furman, a retired Navy officer, received the Republican nomination to problem Mr. Cuellar in November. The district has grown extra aggressive lately, and Mr. Furman has stated he plans to focus on the corruption fees in opposition to Mr. Cuellar within the race.
