Justice Department expected to announce indictment against Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar
Originally Published: 03 MAY 24 11:34 ET
Updated: 03 MAY 24 11:56 ET
By Haley Talbot and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN
(CNN) -- The Justice Department on Friday is expected to announce the indictment of US Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.
Cuellar’s home and campaign office in Laredo, Texas, were raided by the FBI in 2022. The charges against Cuellar are not yet publicly available.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
In a statement on Friday, Cuellar said: “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.”
NBC News first reported the Justice Department’s plans.
Cuellar said in his statement that actions he took in Congress were “in the interest of the American people” and vowed to continue his bid for reelection in November.
In his statement, he suggested his wife, Imelda, was involved.
“On top of being an amazing wife and mother, she’s an accomplished businesswoman with two degrees. She spent her career working with banking, tax, and consulting,” Cuellar said. “The allegation that she is anything but qualified and hard working is both wrong and offensive.”
Cuellar also said that before he took any action, he “proactively” sought legal advice from the House Ethics Committee and an opinion from a national law firm, and sought a meeting with federal prosecutors “to explain the facts.”
“The actions I took in Congress were consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people,” Cuellar said. “Furthermore, we requested a meeting with the Washington DC prosecutors to explain the facts and they refused to discuss the case with us or to hear our side.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
