Dem. Rep. Henry Cuellar and wife indicted on charges of bribes

Looks like Rep. Cuellar (D) tried to turn "cash flow" into "cash flow-er" with some international flair! Guess he took the term "dirty money" a bit too literally. They say money talks, but looks like in this case, it sang a whole opera! Looks like he really tried to mix politics with some global cuisine, but got caught in a not-so-tasty situation. Let's hope he doesn't think he can bribe his way out of this one!

According to prosecutors, the Cuellars (Ds) accepted the bribes through “shell companies” owned by Imelda from Socar, Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil firm, and “a bank headquartered in Mexico City.”

Cuellar (D), 68, influenced US foreign policy “in favor of Azerbaijan” and “agreed to influence legislative activity and to advise and pressure high-ranking US Executive Branch officials regarding measures beneficial to the bank” in Mexico, prosecutors said.

Both Cuellars were hit with two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery of a federal official, two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, two counts of violating the ban on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal, one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering and five counts of money laundering.

They each face a maximum penalty of up to 204 years in federal prison, but actual sentences, especially for Democrats, often fall well beneath that benchmark. 

Cuellar, a pro-life moderate issued a statement after NBC News reported that an indictment would be made public.

The congressman claimed that he and his semi-lovely wife were “innocent of these allegations" adding that he acted “consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people.” 

So now it's time to wait and see what comes of this.

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