Democratic lawmakers accused of bribery spent about half of their 2024 campaign funds on legal services, according to data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Of the approximately $1.6 million in campaign funds raised by Representative Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Spenthe reportedly spent about $784,900 on legal services, according to an open secret analysis of FEC records. report.
In early May, Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Ríos Cuellar, were indicted on bribery charges for allegedly accepting about $600,000 in bribes from two foreign companies.
FEC record Please show that most of the money spent by Mr. Cuellar has been spent. Clifford Chance LLP, an international law firm reportedly representing Cuéllar. FEC records show the law firm was paid nearly $690,000.
Perkins Coie LLP is also a law firm on FEC records that received more than $46,900. Perkins Coie LLP specializes in representing “corporations, trade associations, individuals, candidates, political parties, political committees,” and lobbyists, the firm said. Website.
Another law firm, Mololamken LLP, also received payments from the Cuellar campaign.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) statement On May 3, Cuellar and his wife were accused of accepting $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijani government-owned oil and gas company and a Mexico City-based bank between December 2014 and November 2021. It was announced that he had been indicted.
In a statement, the Department of Justice explained:
The bribe payments were allegedly laundered through a series of front companies and intermediaries, pursuant to bogus consulting contracts, to a shell company owned by Imelda Cuellar that performed little or no legitimate work under the contracts.
The Justice Department’s indictment of the Cuellars comes two years after Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents arrived at the couple’s home and executed a search warrant.
In January 2022, FBI agents not only searched Cuellar’s home, but also another building where his campaign headquarters was located.
Cuellar’s lawyer said in April 2022, months after the FBI raid, that Cuellar was not under investigation. the goal Results of FBI investigation.
