As tensions flared about disputed territory in the Caucasus location in the summer season of 2020, Azerbaijan’s squadron of large-priced Washington lobbyists scrambled to pin the blame on neighboring Armenia and spotlight its connections to Russia.
Unbeknown to customers of Congress, Azerbaijan experienced an inside of person who was functioning intently with the Azerbaijani ambassador to Washington at the time on a parallel line of attack, according to text messages launched by federal prosecutors.
Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat now charged with accepting bribes and performing as a overseas agent in a yearslong scheme, indicated in a text that he planned a legislative maneuver to try out to strip funding from Armenia due to the fact it hosted Russian navy bases.
Azerbaijan’s ambassador responded enthusiastically.
“Your modification is more timely than ever,” the ambassador, Elin Suleymanov, wrote to Mr. Cuellar. “It is all about Russian presence there,” additional Mr. Suleymanov, who referred to the congressman as “Boss.”
Mr. Cuellar’s legislative gambit did not go far. But by the time of the text exchange, his family had accepted at minimum $360,000 from Azerbaijani government-managed firms given that December 2014, in accordance to a federal indictment unsealed in Houston on Friday.
The 54-web site indictment highlights the value of U.S. policymaking to overseas pursuits, and the lengths to which they go to consider to form it to their benefit, notwithstanding large risks and in some cases questionable results.
The indictment accuses Mr. Cuellar, 68, and his wife, Imelda, 67, of accepting bribes, dollars laundering and conspiring to violate foreign lobbying regulations in relationship with efforts on behalf of the Azerbaijani authorities and a Mexico Metropolis lender that compensated them at minimum $238,390.
The Cuellars pleaded not responsible on Friday, and were launched immediately after just about every paid a bond of $100,000. In a assertion just before the indictment, Mr. Cuellar declared his innocence and proposed that the House Ethics Committee experienced cleared his fiscal exercise. The Azerbaijani Embassy did not reply to a request for remark.
The rates from the few advise that the Justice Office is growing its initiatives to clamp down on foreign influence strategies, despite modern high-profile setbacks. Juries and judges have turned down situations related to unregistered foreign lobbying by political figures with shut ties to former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald J. Trump.
The indictment is the 2nd in the latest months to charge a sitting down member of Congress with violating a prohibition on lawmakers serving as overseas brokers. Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, and his wife received a collection of expenses beginning in Oct accusing them of accepting hundreds of hundreds of pounds in bribes, which include gold bars, to assist the governments of Egypt and Qatar. Mr. Menendez and his spouse have pleaded not guilty.
Beyond the payments Mr. Menendez and Mr. Cuellar are accused of obtaining, Azerbaijan, Egypt and Qatar have been large spenders on traditional Washington lobbying to preserve the flow of United States assist and to gain assist in disputes with neighbors.
From 2015 to the end of past calendar year, Egypt spent $14.3 million on lobbying and Qatar expended nearly $85.9 million, according to analyses by the nonpartisan web page OpenSecrets of disclosures to the Justice Office less than the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. The disclosures do not involve donations to think tanks and other expenditures that wealthy overseas governments use to attempt to crank out fantastic will.
Azerbaijan put in just about $9.2 million on lobbying in that time, according to FARA filings. Arms of the govt retained about 20 companies through that time, which include ones led by former Gov. Haley Barbour, Republican of Mississippi, and previous Representative Bob Livingston, a Louisiana Republican who served as chairman of the Dwelling Appropriations Committee. The lobbying initiatives also associated companies operate by Democrats, such as the previous Biden adviser Larry Rasky, who died in 2020, and the fund-raiser Vincent A. Roberti.
Azerbaijan’s ambitions involved winning aid for the reintegration of the Nagorno-Karabakh territory in the Lesser Caucasus, which has been below dispute with Armenia for many years. (Azerbaijan seized entire command of the territory in September.) Azerbaijan also wanted Congress to repeal a ban on U.S. support imposed in 1992 for the duration of the very first Nagorno-Karabakh war.
Although the United States has continually issued waivers to the ban due to the fact 2001, the Azerbaijanis take into consideration the toughness of the fundamental ban “kind of an insult and injustice,” stated Richard Kauzlarich, who served as ambassador to Azerbaijan all through the Clinton administration.
“I haven’t seen indications of the return on the expenditure as considerably as challenges that are essential to Azerbaijan in phrases of their lobbying attempts,” Mr. Kauzlarich said. He attributed that partly to continued problems about human rights abuses by the Azerbaijani govt and partly to the absence of an organized, activated diaspora like that which has lobbied for Armenian triggers.
“No amount of money of revenue is heading to be capable to counter the quantity of voters in California and Massachusetts and elsewhere exactly where Armenian People in america are living, are energetic and vote,” he stated.
Whilst politicians in Europe have been accused of accepting presents and bribes from Azerbaijani and Qatari officials, the prosecutors’ statements of payments to Mr. Menendez and Mr. Cueller insert a new wrinkle in the planet of subterranean influence campaigns in Washington.
The lawmakers ended up in prime positions to assist international governments. Mr. Menendez was the chairman of the Senate Overseas Relations Committee, though Mr. Cuellar served on the Home Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the budget of the Point out Division.
Right after their respective indictments, Mr. Menendez stepped down from his chairmanship, and Mr. Cuellar from his placement as the top rated Democrat on the Homeland Protection Appropriations Subcommittee. Mr. Menendez’s demo is scheduled to get started this month. Each have vowed to continue to be in office as they contest the expenses, and Mr. Cuellar has claimed he intends to go on his re-election marketing campaign.
The Azerbaijanis’ courtship of Mr. Cuellar came as oil pursuits in the country, which includes the point out-owned firm that prosecutors say funded the payments to the Cuellars, maintained a existence in Texas.
Mr. Cuellar and his spouse, along with other Texas lawmakers, have been taken care of to excursions to Azerbaijan in 2013. He received briefings from large-amount government officials and attended a meal with executives from the state-owned oil firm, according to prosecutors. Following Mr. Cuellar returned, he was recruited by Azerbaijani officials, who started funneling payments to a pair of consulting firms his wife designed termed IRC Business Answers and International Gold Group, according to prosecutors and Texas companies filings.
The Cuellars used the cash to pay off debts, fund dwelling expenses and make purchases such as a $12,000 customized robe and a $7,000 down payment for a new motor vehicle, prosecutors say.
The indictment claims that Imelda Cuellar “performed small or no legit get the job done in trade for the payments.” Rather, “in exchange for the bribe payments, Henry Cuellar agreed to carry out formal functions and functions in violation of his formal obligations benefiting Azerbaijan and to be and act as an agent of the authorities of Azerbaijan.”
Amid the services prosecutors say Mr. Cuellar carried out at the behest of the Azerbaijanis was urgent the Obama administration to choose a tougher line from Armenia, hoping to insert language favorable to Azerbaijan into legislation and committee experiences and obtaining members of his employees urge the Point out Section to renew a passport for the daughter of Mr. Suleymanov.
Mr. Cuellar’s endeavours on behalf of Azerbaijan mostly seem to have experienced nominal effect. He withdrew the modification to strip funding from Armenia after objections from an Armenian diaspora team.
“It was likely to be ruled out of purchase so I withdrew but they are getting credit rating ha ha,” Mr. Cuellar texted Mr. Suleymanov.
The ambassador responded “they consider credit rating for every little thing!”
Right after the indictment of Mr. Cuellar was unsealed, the group, Armenian Assembly of America, referred to as for “a broader investigation in relation to these rates and who else might be tied to Azerbaijan’s corrupt modes of operation.”
