Dean Phillips becomes first Democrat to call for Cuellar to resign

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) on Friday became the first Democrat to call for Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) to resign in light of the Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment against him and his wife. Became a member of the Diet.

“While the bar for federal prosecution is high, confidence in our government is low,” Phillips wrote in his paper. post “That’s why all the elected officials and indicted candidates, including Sen. Bob Menendez, Donald Trump, and Rep. Henry Cuellar, should resign or cease their campaigns.”

Mr. Cuellar and his wife were charged with approximately $600,000 in bribery and money laundering. In a 14-count indictment, the Justice Department outlined allegations that Cuéllar received payments from Azerbaijan’s national oil company and a Mexican bank. Cuéllar and his wife, Imelda, pleaded not guilty and were released on $100,000 bail.

“In exchange for bribes paid by Azerbaijani oil and gas companies, Congressman Kueyar allegedly agreed to use his office to influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan,” the judiciary said. the ministry said in a press release.

“In exchange for bribes paid by the Bank of Mexico, Congressman Cuellar allegedly agreed to influence legislative activity and advise and pressure U.S. executive branch officials regarding measures favorable to the Bank of Mexico.”

Mr. Cuellar is the second lawmaker to be indicted, following Sen. Bob Menendez (D.N.J.). The New Jersey senator was indicted by the Justice Department on bribery charges last year. The New Jersey senator is being asked to resign by more than a dozen Democrats in the Senate.

Mr. Cuellar insisted that neither he nor his wife did anything wrong.

“Before taking any action, I proactively sought legal advice from the House Ethics Committee, which provided me with multiple written opinions, along with additional opinions from national law firms,” ​​Cuellar said. said in a statement released before the charges were unsealed. .

“The actions I took in Congress were consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and were in the interest of the American people.”

The Texas lawmaker has said he will run for re-election in November.

The Hill has reached out to Cuellar’s office for comment.