Azerbaijan Probe Is Basis for FBI Raiding Rep. Cuellar's Home
By Eric Mack | Thursday, 20 January 2022 08:35 PM
The FBI has raided the home of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, amid a federal investigation into the former Soviet state of Azerbaijan and its ties to U.S. businessmen, according to ABC News.
Cuellar, a Democrat, has been heavily critical of President Joe Biden administration's handling of the migration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border in west Texas, where his district lies.
Any raid on Cuellar's home was "court-authorized," an FBI spokesman told ABC News.
A source told ABC News it is not known if Cuellar is a target of the investigation.
Cuellar said in a statement he "will fully cooperate in any investigation" and that he is "committed to ensuring that justice and the law are upheld."
Cuellar has been a co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, and has met with Azerbaijan officials, including Azerbaijan's Amb. Elin Suleymanov, according to the report.
Texas news site myRGV.com reported that more than a dozen agents visited Cuellar's home in Laredo, near the Mexican border, and were seen taking "cases and other items" from his home.
Reporter Valerie Gonzalez posted a photo on Twitter of two men in FBI T-shirts approaching a salmon-colored house on a tree-lined street. Gonzalez said agents had also visited Cuellar's campaign office on Wednesday afternoon.
Cuellar, one of the most conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives, represents a Texas district that hugs the banks of the Rio Grande River, just opposite Mexico. He is facing a primary challenge from Jessica Cisneros, an immigration attorney.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.