U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) conducted a raid on a house and a campaign office of Henry Cuellar, Democratic Congressman from the State of Texas, on January 20. The raid on Cuellar, who has a history with Azerbaijani officials and is a co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, is reportedly linked to his affairs with Azerbaijanis, as a source told ABC News.
FBI spokesperson stated to media that search warrants at Cuellar’s house and office were authorized by court, but declined to answer what they were investigating. Cuellar’s office also said in a statement that the congressman will “fully cooperate” with law enforcement to ensure that “justice and law are upheld”.
American conservative giant media company Fox News obtained a document showing that Cuellar and his wife made a trip to Turkey and Azerbaijan in 2013 at the cost of 25,000$, which was, according to the document, paid by U.S.-based NGO named Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians. The president of the NGO is someone who was arrested in 2019 in relation to a different congressional trip, as he failed to disclose the fact that the trip was financed by a foreign government.
Cuellar is also known for occasionally meeting Azerbaijani officials, most notably Azerbaijani ambassador to the U.S. Elin Suleymanov.
