Federal judge appears ready to dismiss 2 of 14 charges in Henry Cuellar’s bribery case

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WASHINGTON — At the request of prosecutors, a federal judge appeared ready to dismiss two of the 14 charges alleging Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife accepted $600,000 in bribes from Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank in a Thursday hearing.

While the Laredo Democrat and his wife still face bribery charges stemming from a 2024 indictment, the judge dismissed two charges that Cuellar and his wife were acting as agents of a foreign entity.

Cuellar and his wife have denied any wrongdoing. Cuellar’s legal team is still seeking a dismissal of the entire indictment, arguing the two charges dismissed Thursday cannot be easily excised from the remaining dozen, attorney Eric Reid told The Texas Tribune.

The judge also pushed the trial, slated to start next month, to early next year.

The dismissal comes after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo narrowing the enforcement of laws relating to foreign lobbying and bribery.

The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Cuellar in 2024 accusing him of accepting payments from an Azerbaijan-run oil-and-gas company laundered through consulting contracts. In exchange for the payments, prosecutors said, Cuellar worked to advance U.S. policy favorable to the Azerbaijan government, including through defense spending legislation and working to kill legislation seen as favorable to Armenian interests.

The 11-term congressman was also accused of accepting funds from a commercial Mexican bank while coordinating with a subsidiary of the bank to push through legislation beneficial to the payday-lending industry, a type of high-interest loan primarily targeted at low-income individuals with high rates of default.

He also allegedly helped strike down anti-money laundering policies by influencing members of the executive branch.

Two of Cuellar’s political advisors pleaded guilty last year on charges that they conspired to launder $200,000 in bribes from the Mexican bank.

Cuellar is facing a tough reelection in the South Texas seat he has held since 2005, with National Republican groups viewing his legal saga as ripe for political attack. Cuellar won reelection by about 5 points in 2024 despite his indictment.

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