The FBI on Wednesday raided the home and campaign office of Texas Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar as part of a wide-ranging federal probe relating to Azerbaijan and several U.S. businessmen, ABC News reported.
A federal grand jury in Washington is investigating the matter, but ABC News said it’s unclear if Cuellar is a target of the grand jury’s probe.
The Armenian National Committee of America said in a social media post that Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the United States, Elin Suleymanov, “skipped town one step ahed of high-profile FBI raid and major federal criminal corruption probe into Azerbaijani bribery schemes (long an open secret in DC circles).”
After FBI agents executed a search warrant at Cuellar’s home in Laredo, Texas, an aide to Cuellar said in a statement that the congressman “will fully cooperate in any investigation.”
“He is committed to ensuring that justice and the law are upheld,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, an FBI spokesperson emphasized that any “law enforcement activity” at Cuellar’s home and campaign office was “court-authorized.”
Cuellar, who represents Texas’ 28th Congressional District along the U.S.-Mexico border, has been in Congress since 2005. In recent years he has served as a co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, and repeatedly met with Azerbaijani officials, including the ambassador of Azerbaijan, Suleymanov, ABC News reported.
