Graded F: Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar (D-28)
Indicted for taking Azerbaijani bribes to torpedo the humanitarian demining of Artsakh.
Asbed asks about Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar, and Hamparian answers that Cuellar is the worst of the worst. He lays out the story: Cuellar is a longstanding border Democrat positioned toward the middle rather than the left of his party. A couple of years ago, the FBI raided his house and office over allegations that he accepted bribes from Azerbaijan. Based on those raids plus wiretaps and his text messages, the federal government indicted him.
Hamparian says he read the roughly 54-page indictment, which accuses Cuellar of accepting around $600,000 in bribes from Azerbaijan and from a Mexican cartel. The detail he finds most significant involves a request from the Azerbaijani ambassador at the time, identified in the indictment as foreign diplomat number one but clearly Elin Suleymanov. The request was to torpedo amendments ANCA was advancing to support the humanitarian demining of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), a war-torn area where farmers, children, and families were routinely harmed by mines in fields and playgrounds. The amendments targeted only the interior, not the borders, to make the region safer for families.
Hamparian says Cuellar offered counter-amendments and worked to undermine the effort, succeeding in some respects and failing in others, though the demining program continued. Cuellar was eventually pardoned by President Trump, which Hamparian calls strange given that Trump is a Republican and Cuellar a Democrat. He hopes the voters of Cuellar’s district will not extend the same pardon, and notes ANCA has found a receptive audience among Catholic and faith communities in South Texas and Laredo who feel Cuellar betrayed his oath, his country, and Armenian Christians.
Transcript
Asbed Bedrossian: How about Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar?
Aram Suren Hamparian: Okay, he is the worst of the worst. And this is, okay, let's tell the Henry Cuellar story. He's a longstanding border Democrat, right? Typically more toward the middle as opposed to the left of the Democratic Party. And a couple of years back, the FBI raided his house and raided his office for information related to allegations of accepting bribes from Azerbaijan. Based on those raids and other information, including wiretaps, including the federal government reading his text messages, they indicted him. The federal government indicted him. I've read the 50, I think, 54 page indictment and accused him of accepting something like six hundred thousand dollars in bribes from Azerbaijan and also from some Mexican cartel. And the indictment reveals, and this is like kind of significant, I think, to the folks watching, right, that he sought at the request of the Azerbaijani ambassador at the time, who was identified as foreign diplomat number one, but it was clearly a guy named Elin Suleymanov, the Azerbaijani ambassador at the time. The request came in to torpedo amendments that we were working on to support the humanitarian demining of Artsakh. Artsakh is a war-torn area. Farmers and kids, moms, would get blown up all the time because their field or their farm or their playground would have mines in them. And we were working to see the U.S. Congress support humanitarian efforts just for the interior, not the borders, just the interior, to make it safer for families. And he offered counter-amendments. He sought to undermine our amendment. in some regards and not successful in others. The program did continue despite his efforts, but the indictment revealed that this guy was like all in at the request of the Azerbaijani government to stop humanitarian demining in Artsakh. He got indicted for that, went through the courts. Eventually, he was pardoned by President Trump, which is a strange thing because Trump is a Republican and he’s a Democrat. But we hope that the voters of his district will not pardon him. And let me say that we have found a very receptive audience. We have done mailings and outreach and online work with the Christian, the faith community in South Texas, in Laredo, a lot of Catholic voters down there who do not appreciate their member of Congress betraying his oath, betraying his country, and also betraying Armenian Christians. So we made a special offer.