Democrat Rep. Cuellar Not Under Investigation After FBI Raid of His Home

Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) is not the target of a federal investigation that resulted in the FBI raiding his home and office in Laredo, Texas, according to his attorney.

“Over the last several weeks, the Justice Department, in a conversation I had with the prosecutor, let me know that Congressman Cuellar is not a target of this investigation,” Cuellar’s attorney, Joshua Berman, told Fox News.

In January, federal agents raided his home as part of an ongoing investigation into various U.S.-based companies and advocacy organizations with ties to Azerbaijan.

As Fox News reported:

Cuellar and his wife traveled to Azerbaijan in 2013, according to federal disclosures, and his office announced a partnership in 2015 between Texas A&M International University and the Assembly of Friends of Azerbaijan, a Houston-based nonprofit.

The congressman has denied wrongdoing in the probe from the outset and pledged to continue his run for re-election.

“Congressman Cuellar has made clear that he did nothing wrong and he wanted to absolutely fully cooperate at all times with the Justice Department’s investigation, which he has done from day one through today, and will continue to do so,” his attorney said earlier in the week.

Cuellar’s progressive challenger, 28-year-old Jessica Cisneros, received boosts from incumbent Democrats like Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) following the news of the raid on Cuellar’s home.

Cuellar now faces a runoff election in late May for his tenth term in Congress with Cisneros after he narrowly missed the majority threshold required to secure his nomination in March’s primary elections.

Cuellar is one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress. He has been critical of Biden’s immigration agenda. In addition, he strayed away from party lines during the House’s recent vote to legalize marijuana. Cuellar was also the only Democrat to vote against codifying a right to abortion into federal law.