House Ethics Committee launches investigation into Cuellar after accusation

The House Ethics Committee said Wednesday it has launched an investigation into Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) after he and his wife were indicted on allegations that they accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and laundered the money.

Representatives Michael Guest (R-Miss.) and Susan Wild (D-Pa.), chair and ranking member of the Ethics Committee, respectively, said the panel voted unanimously to establish an investigative subcommittee to look into whether Cuellar “requested or accept bribes, gratuities or inappropriate gifts; acted as a foreign agent; violated federal money laundering laws; abused his official position for private gain; and/or made false statements or omissions in public disclosure statements filed with the House.”

The news comes nearly a month after the Justice Department charged Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, with bribery, money laundering and foreign influence peddling. They pleaded not guilty to the 14-count federal indictment, were released on $100,000 bail and denied any wrongdoing.

Authorities accused Cuellar of accepting about $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company owned and controlled by the Azerbaijani government and a Mexico City-based bank. In return, they say Cuellar agreed to use his position to influence U.S. policy in favor of Azerbaijan and to push for measures beneficial to the bank.

Guest and Wild said the Ethics Committee “is aware of the risks associated with dual investigations and is in communication with the Department of Justice to mitigate potential risks, while also fulfilling the Committee’s obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House.”

In a statement from WednesdayCuellar said, “I respect the work of the House Ethics Committee.”

“As I said on May 3, I am innocent of these charges and everything I did in Congress was to serve the people of South Texas,” he added.

Cuellar resigned as ranking member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee following his indictment.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story