Bribery charges

The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a criminal indictment May 3 charging Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and his wife, Imelda, with bribery, money laundering, and acting as foreign agents. Cuellar is the second Democratic lawmaker facing similar charges: Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey was also indicted in a bribery case last year.

According to the indictment, the Cuellars collected roughly $600,000 from an Azerbaijani-owned oil company and a Mexican bank, funneling it to shell companies Imelda owned. Prosecutors accuse Henry Cuellar of accepting bribes from the government of Azerbaijan and Mexican banking officials in exchange for influencing the executive branch and Congress to support legislation favorable to them. The Cuellars allegedly used the money to pay off debt, fund family expenses, and buy luxury gowns and a car.

Both a former aide and a business consultant to Cuellar agreed to plead guilty to money laundering charges. A third person pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered agent for Azerbaijan.

In a statement, Cuellar insisted he and his wife were innocent. “Before I took any action, I proactively sought legal advice from the House Ethics Committee, who gave me more than one written opinion, along with an additional opinion from a national law firm,” he said. Cuellar said he would still run for reelection this fall.

Menendez’s case, over alleged bribes meant to benefit Egypt and Qatar, went to trial May 13.

Ballot box cameras in Connecticut

Connecticut’s General Assembly in early May passed an election security bill requiring camera surveillance of ballot drop boxes around the state. Republican and Democratic lawmakers said the measure was essential to boost security and confidence in elections. The bill also enhances protections for poll workers and streamlines ballot tracking.

Under the measure’s requirements, all cities and towns in Connecticut must install one video camera per absentee drop box by July 1, 2025. Election officials must then make the footage available to the public.

The bill came in response to what the state has called a “black eye” incident in September 2023 when video footage caught someone dropping multiple ballots into drop boxes in Bridgeport in apparent violation of state law. The discovery prompted a judge to toss out the city’s Democratic primary results for mayor that year. —C.L.