House Ethics Committee launches investigation into Representative Henry Cuellar

WASHINGTON – The House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday that it will launch an investigation into Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat who was recently indicted in a federal bribery case.

In a statement, the panel said it voted unanimously to establish a subcommittee to investigate Cuellar after the Justice Department released an indictment this month against Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, accusing them of accepting $598,000 in bribes from foreign entities, including a Mexican bank and an Azerbaijani-controlled oil and gas company.

The subcommittee is to investigate whether Cuellar “solicited or accepted bribes, tips, or improper gifts, acted as a foreign agent, violated federal money laundering laws, abused his official position for private gain, and/or made false statements or omissions in public disclosure statements submitted to the House of Representatives.”

Before the charges were filed earlier this month, Cuellar denied any wrongdoing and said he had “proactively sought legal advice” from the commission.

In a statement on Wednesday, Cuellar reiterated his innocence.

“I respect the work of the House Ethics Committee,” Cuellar said. “As I said on May 3, I am innocent of these charges, and everything I have done in Congress has been in service to the people of South Texas.”

In its statement Wednesday, the House Ethics Committee cited House rules that require the panel to establish an investigative subcommittee within 30 days of a member being impeached or otherwise charged, or to explain its decision not to do so.

The new subcommittee will be chaired and ranked by Republican Chairman Michael Guest of Mississippi and Democratic Representative Glenn Ivey of Maryland.

The federal charges are likely to put Cuellar’s seat in even greater jeopardy in November. Two years ago, he easily defeated his Republican opponent, Cassy Garcia.

This time, Cuellar faces retired Marine officer Jay Furman, who won a runoff in the Republican primary on Tuesday.

Cuellar and his wife are not the first congressional couple to be indicted in the past year in a foreign bribery scheme. The Justice Department has charged Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and his wife, Nadine Menendez, with 18 counts of bribery and corruption. They have pleaded not guilty. The New Jersey senator is currently on trial.

Rebecca Kaplan reported from Washington, DC, and Zoë Richards reported from New York.