Rep. Henry Cuellar — maybe the most conservative member of the House Democratic Caucus — has been remarkably resilient in the face of serious electoral challenges.
But reports of a federal investigation into the congressman’s ties to Azerbaijan, hanging over his head since the FBI raided his house and congressional office at the beginning of 2022, culminated last Friday when the Justice Department announced the congressman and his wife had been charged with accepting bribes from two foreign entities. The Justice Department alleged that Cuellar and his wife had accepted $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company owned by the Azerbaijan government and a bank in Mexico. The indictment also alleges that the congressman agreed to promote pro-Azerbaijan policies in legislation and committee reports.
Cuellar insists he’s running for reelection no matter what. The “King of Laredo,” as he’s sometimes called, is popular in his South Texas district, which stretches from the suburbs of San Antonio down to the Rio Grande Valley. Even as Republicans have made gains in the region (Joe Biden won the 28th by just
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