The Democratic congressman Henry Cuellar on Friday insisted he was innocent of unspecified “allegations” amid reports that the US Department of Justice would imminently announce his indictment.“I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations. Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas,” Cuellar said in a statement that did not elaborate on what he was accused of.He added that “I’m running for re-election and will win this November,” when Democrats are hoping to regain the majority in the House of Representatives.His comments came after NBC News, citing two unnamed sources, reported federal charges would soon be announced against the lawmaker, who has represented a swath of Texas’s border with Mexico in Congress’s lower chamber since 2005. It was not clear what Cuellar was being charged with.Two years ago, the FBI raided Cuellar’s Laredo, Texas, home and campaign office as part of an investigation into US businessmen and links with Azerbaijan. At the time, the congressman said he would cooperate fully with the FBI, but it remains unclear if Cuellar’s expected indictment was related to that search. Months later, an attorney for Cuellar told Fox News that the congressman was not a target of the investigation that led to the raid.In his statement on Friday, the congressman said that “before I took any action, I proactively sought legal advice from the House Ethics Committee, who gave me more than one written opinion, along with an additional opinion from a national law firm. The actions I took in Congress were consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people.” He did not elaborate on what action he was referring to, or how his wife, Imelda Cuellar, was involved.Cuellar added that he had requested to meet with “the Washington, DC prosecutors to explain the facts and they refused to discuss the case with us or to hear our side”.Federal charges could complicate the re-election of 68-year-old Cuellar, who is seeking an 11th term in office. A moderate Democrat, he supported a bipartisan Senate bill that would have tightened immigration policy, and is the party’s sole House lawmaker opposed to passing federal legislation to guarantee abortion access.skip past newsletter promotionOur US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionAfter the 2022 raid on his home and office, Cuellar narrowly won the Democratic primary against his progressive challenger, Jessica Cisneros, then easily beat Republican Cassy Garcia in the general election.



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