Latest news with #Azerbaijan-controlled
3 days ago
- Politics
Judge dismisses 2 counts against US Rep. Cuellar of Texas, moves bribery trial to next year
HOUSTON -- A judge on Thursday granted a request by federal prosecutors to dismiss two of the 14 counts against U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife, as part of a federal bribery and conspiracy indictment. The judge also ordered that their trial, which had been set for September, be rescheduled for next year. Prosecutors with the U.S. Justice Department had asked U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal to dismiss two counts that Cuellar and his wife had each faced related to violating the prohibition on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal. Federal authorities have charged Cuellar, 69, and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, with accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for the congressman advancing the interests of an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. Cuellar has said he and his wife are innocent. Prosecutors said they were dismissing the two counts following a February memorandum from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that shifted the focus of charges filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The law is aimed at ensuring transparency about lobbying efforts done in the U.S. at the direction of foreign governments or principals. Bondi's memorandum said that such charges 'shall be limited to instances of alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors.' During a Zoom court hearing, Rosenthal said she was set to file an order granting the prosecution's motion to dismiss the two counts. Cuellar and his wife each still face 12 charges, including conspiracy, bribery and money laundering. Rosenthal also granted a request from both prosecutors and attorneys for the Cuellars to reschedule their trial in Houston. The couple's trial had been set to begin Sept. 22. Rosenthal agreed to move it to April 6. Cuellar has served in Congress for over 20 years, and his district stretches from San Antonio to the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas.
The Hill
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Judge dismisses 2 counts against US Rep. Cuellar of Texas, moves bribery trial to next year
HOUSTON (AP) — A judge on Thursday granted a request by federal prosecutors to dismiss two of the 14 counts against U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife, as part of a federal bribery and conspiracy indictment. The judge also ordered that their trial, which had been set for September, be rescheduled for next year. Prosecutors with the U.S. Justice Department had asked U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal to dismiss two counts that Cuellar and his wife had each faced related to violating the prohibition on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal. Federal authorities have charged Cuellar, 69, and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, with accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for the congressman advancing the interests of an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. Cuellar has said he and his wife are innocent. Prosecutors said they were dismissing the two counts following a February memorandum from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that shifted the focus of charges filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The law is aimed at ensuring transparency about lobbying efforts done in the U.S. at the direction of foreign governments or principals. Bondi's memorandum said that such charges 'shall be limited to instances of alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors.' During a Zoom court hearing, Rosenthal said she was set to file an order granting the prosecution's motion to dismiss the two counts. Cuellar and his wife each still face 12 charges, including conspiracy, bribery and money laundering. Rosenthal also granted a request from both prosecutors and attorneys for the Cuellars to reschedule their trial in Houston. The couple's trial had been set to begin Sept. 22. Rosenthal agreed to move it to April 6. Cuellar has served in Congress for over 20 years, and his district stretches from San Antonio to the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas. ___ Follow Juan A. Lozano:
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Judge dismisses 2 counts against US Rep. Cuellar of Texas, moves bribery trial to next year
HOUSTON (AP) — A judge on Thursday granted a request by federal prosecutors to dismiss two of the 14 counts against U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife, as part of a federal bribery and conspiracy indictment. The judge also ordered that their trial, which had been set for September, be rescheduled for next year. Prosecutors with the U.S. Justice Department had asked U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal to dismiss two counts that Cuellar and his wife had each faced related to violating the prohibition on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal. Federal authorities have charged Cuellar, 69, and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, with accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for the congressman advancing the interests of an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. Cuellar has said he and his wife are innocent. Prosecutors said they were dismissing the two counts following a February memorandum from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that shifted the focus of charges filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The law is aimed at ensuring transparency about lobbying efforts done in the U.S. at the direction of foreign governments or principals. Bondi's memorandum said that such charges 'shall be limited to instances of alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors.' During a Zoom court hearing, Rosenthal said she was set to file an order granting the prosecution's motion to dismiss the two counts. Cuellar and his wife each still face 12 charges, including conspiracy, bribery and money laundering. ___ Follow Juan A. Lozano:
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Judge dismisses 2 counts against US Rep. Cuellar of Texas, moves bribery trial to next year
HOUSTON (AP) — A judge on Thursday granted a request by federal prosecutors to dismiss two of the 14 counts against U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife, as part of a federal bribery and conspiracy indictment. The judge also ordered that their trial, which had been set for September, be rescheduled for next year. Prosecutors with the U.S. Justice Department had asked U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal to dismiss two counts that Cuellar and his wife had each faced related to violating the prohibition on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal. Federal authorities have charged Cuellar, 69, and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, with accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for the congressman advancing the interests of an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. Cuellar has said he and his wife are innocent. Prosecutors said they were dismissing the two counts following a February memorandum from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that shifted the focus of charges filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The law is aimed at ensuring transparency about lobbying efforts done in the U.S. at the direction of foreign governments or principals. Bondi's memorandum said that such charges 'shall be limited to instances of alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors.' During a Zoom court hearing, Rosenthal said she was set to file an order granting the prosecution's motion to dismiss the two counts. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Cuellar and his wife each still face 12 charges, including conspiracy, bribery and money laundering. Rosenthal also granted a request from both prosecutors and attorneys for the Cuellars to reschedule their trial in Houston. The couple's trial had been set to begin Sept. 22. Rosenthal agreed to move it to April 6. Cuellar has served in Congress for over 20 years, and his district stretches from San Antonio to the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas. ___ Follow Juan A. Lozano:
02-05-2025
- Politics
Judge denies effort by US Rep Cuellar of Texas to move bribery trial to hometown of Laredo
HOUSTON -- A judge on Friday denied an effort by lawyers for U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas to move his trial on federal bribery and conspiracy charges from Houston to his hometown of Laredo, Texas. During a Zoom court hearing, Chris Flood, one of Cuellar's lawyers, had argued that Houston is more than 300 miles (482 kilometers) from Laredo, where many of the alleged crimes the congressman is accused of committing took place. Flood also pushed back against claims prosecutors would face difficulties trying Cuellar in Laredo, where he is well known. Federal authorities have charged Cuellar, 69, and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, with accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for the congressman advancing the interests of an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. Cuellar has said he and his wife are innocent. Celia Choy, a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Justice Department, argued moving the trial would further delay it and she questioned if an unbiased jury could be picked in Cuellar's hometown. U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal cited the prominence Cuellar and his wife have in Laredo as well as having a larger jury pool in the Houston area as some of the reasons for not moving the trial to Laredo. 'Houston can handle this case easily, very easily,' Rosenthal said. The judge also denied a request by Cuellar's attorneys to push back the start of the trial. The trial for Cuellar and his wife is set to begin Sept. 22. Cuellar and his wife appeared during Friday's Zoom hearing but didn't speak. Since Cuellar's indictment in April 2024, three people have pleaded guilty in connection with the case: Colin Strother, one of Cuellar's top former aides; Florencio Rendon, a Texas political and business consultant; and Irada Akhoundova, who was director of a Texas affiliate of an Azerbaijan energy company.
