Thursday, December 4 2025 10:43

ArmInfo.  The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) today condemned President Trump's pardon of Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX), who was indicted  in 2024 for accepting nearly six hundred thousand dollars in  Azerbaijani bribes in exchange for advancing Azerbaijan's interests  in Congress at the direct expense of the Constitutional rights of  Armenian Americans.

 

"Trump's pardon of Congressman Cuellar is a free pass for foreign  bribes, a billboard atop the White House announcing to the world that  it's pay-to-play in Washington," said ANCA Executive Director Aram  Hamparian. "It's Azerbaijan First foreign policy, at the expense of  the American people."

 

Earlier today, President Trump announced on Truth Social his "full  and unconditional PARDON" of Rep.  Cuellar and his wife, Imelda. In  his post, Trump characterized the federal indictment as political  persecution, claiming that "Crooked Joe used the FBI and DOJ to 'take  out' a member of his own Party after Highly Respected Congressman  Henry Cuellar bravely spoke out against Open Borders." Trump made no  mention of the detailed evidence presented in the Justice  Department's indictment documenting years of corrupt payments from  Azerbaijan's state-controlled oil company in exchange for legislative  favors.

 

The ANCA is continuing its call on the U.S. House of Representatives  to expel Henry Cuellar, condemn Azerbaijan's brazen interference in  American democracy, and enact statutory measures to prevent ongoing  attempts by Azerbaijan's corrupt Aliyev regime to rig U.S. foreign  policy in its favor.  To contact Congress, visit anca.org/expel

 

"President Trump's reckless pardon underscores the importance of  investigating Azerbaijan's foreign influence operations in  Washington, DC," said Hamparian. "Cuellar's crimes - a serious as  they are - represent the tip of the iceberg. Congress needs to expel  him immediately and root out Baku's bribery schemes across our  government."

 

The Indictment: Nearly $600,000 in Azerbaijani Bribes

 

The federal indictment against Rep. Cuellar and his wife Imelda,  unsealed in May 2024, presents extensive evidence that Rep. Cuellar  accepted at least $598,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: an  oil and gas company wholly owned and controlled by the Government of  Azerbaijan, and a bank headquartered in Mexico City. The indictment  accused Cuellar and his wife of laundering foreign bribe payments  through Texas shell companies, disguising their arrangement with  consulting contracts for which Imelda Cuellar performed little or no  legitimate work.

 

The indictment explicitly states: "With respect to Azerbaijan, in  exchange for the bribe payments, Henry Cuellar promised to influence  U.S. foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan. Henry Cuellar agreed,  among other things, to influence a series of legislative measures  relating to Azerbaijan's conflict with neighboring Armenia; to insert  language favored by Azerbaijan into legislation and committee reports  governing certain security and economic aid programs; to deliver a  pro-Azerbaijan speech on the floor of the House of Representatives;  and to consult with representatives of Azerbaijan regarding their  efforts to lobby the United States government."

 

Internal communications revealed through the indictment show  Azerbaijani diplomats referring to Cuellar as "El Jefe" ("The Boss"),  acknowledging his central role in advancing their foreign influence  operations in Washington. In response to an Azerbaijani diplomat's  request for assistance with U.S. legislation, Cuellar indicated  readiness to help, stating he would "try [his] best" to influence  legislative outcomes favorably for Azerbaijan.

 

Blocking Aid to Artsakh, Undermining Armenian American Advocacy

 

According to the indictment, Rep. Cuellar's corrupt actions had  tangible and devastating consequences for Armenian communities. On  multiple occasions, Cuellar communicated directly with Azerbaijani  officials to discuss strategies for overriding Armenian American  interests in Congress. The indictment details how Cuellar agreed to  block amendments advanced by members of the Congressional Armenian  Caucus that would have secured humanitarian relief for Artsakh  (Nagorno-Karabakh) or strengthened U.S. support for Armenia.

 

In one particularly egregious instance documented in the indictment,  on September 1, 2017, an Azerbaijani diplomat texted Cuellar a  screenshot of an amendment to fund efforts to clear land mines in the  Nagorno- Karabakh region - efforts that were supported by Armenian  Americans and opposed by Azerbaijan. Cuellar replied: "I see it. We  work on it." The diplomat responded, "Thank you Boss!"

In text message exchanges during the summer of 2020, as tensions  between Azerbaijan and Armenia escalated toward open war, Cuellar  repeatedly promised Azerbaijani diplomats he would "add Rider on  bases" and assured them "I have another amendment I may add this  week" to advance Azerbaijan's interests against Armenia.

 

The indictment further uncovers how Rep. Cuellar agreed to insert  pro-Azerbaijan speeches into Congressional records and to advance  legislation that would undermine U.S. aid to Nagorno-Karabakh  (Artsakh). In one email, Cuellar promised Azerbaijani contacts to  "set up a meeting" with U.S. defense officials to discuss matters  benefiting Azerbaijan, directly linking his legislative actions to  the bribes received.

 

"Rep. Cuellar not only betrayed the trust of his South Texas  constituents - by taking foreign money to obstruct our community's  right to petition our government - he cheated Americans of Armenian  heritage from all across our country of our Constitutional right to  honest representation," the ANCA noted in a September 2024 letter to  the U.S. Attorney.  "By conspiring to rig U.S. foreign policy in  favor of authoritarian Azerbaijan, Rep.  Cuellar undermined American  support for Armenian Christians, enabling Azerbaijan's genocidal  ethnic cleansing of Artsakh."

 

Armenian Americans as Victims Under the Crime Victims' Rights Act

 

In September 2024, the ANCA formally called upon U.S. Attorney  Nicholas J. Ganjei to recognize Americans of Armenian heritage as  victims of Congressman Cuellar's criminal conspiracy with Azerbaijan  under the Crime Victims' Rights Act (18 U.S.C.  3771).  This  designation would permit Armenian American community representatives,  including the ANCA, to submit victim impact statements and ensure the  harms they suffered are factored into any sentencing or restitution  decisions in the case.

 

In a September 3, 2025 letter to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern  District of Texas, ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian underscored  that Rep. Cuellar's alleged corruption deprived Armenian Americans of  their constitutional right to petition their government and to  participate in the democratic process free of foreign manipulation.

 

"Congressman Cuellar's actions harmed Armenian Americans by  undermining the free exercise of our constitutional right 'peaceably  to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of  grievances,' covertly conspiring with a foreign entity to reduce the  impact of our advocacy as American citizens on the U.S. legislative  process," explained Hamparian in the letter.

 

Trump's pardon effectively denies Armenian Americans their right as  victims to see justice served and to have their harms acknowledged in  sentencing proceedings.

 

A Decades-Long Pattern of Azerbaijani Influence Operations

 

The ANCA has, over the past three decades, warned of Azerbaijan's  efforts to buy influence in Washington, with Rep. Cuellar serving as  a linchpin in these operations. As early as 2013, Cuellar accepted  trips to Azerbaijan arranged by intermediaries later convicted of  concealing Azerbaijani state sponsorship. From there, his ties to  Azerbaijani oil companies deepened into what prosecutors laid bare as  a years-long bribery scheme.

 

In January 2013, one of Cuellar's organizations sponsored Rep.  Cuellar and his wife to travel to Istanbul, Turkey and Baku,  Azerbaijan at a cost of $26,125. Shortly after the Cuellars returned  to the United States, Azerbaijani officials discussed recruiting  Cuellar to promote Azerbaijan's interests in Congress. An Azerbaijani  diplomat emailed the director of the Azerbaijani oil company's  Washington, D.C. office, noting that Cuellar had just been appointed  to the Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on State, Foreign  Operations, and Related Programs, and writing: "[t]he good news is  that Cuellar was just in Baku." The diplomat continued, "[w]e need to  work with these offices to make sure we build an  anti-[Representative-1] coalition"-referring to a member of the  Congressional Armenian Caucus.

 

The magnitude of Azerbaijan's global influence operations was first  exposed by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project in  its report on the "Azerbaijani Laundromat"-which found that, between  2012 and 2014, over $2.5 billion was laundered through slush funds  into the accounts of European politicians and international  organizations to suffocate criticism of the Azerbaijani regime's  abuses and promote Azerbaijan's image on the world stage.

In 2013, reports revealed that a congressional delegation to  Azerbaijan involving 10 members of Congress and over 30 staffers had  been paid for without their knowledge by SOCAR, the state-owned oil  company of Azerbaijan. The trip was the subject of an Ethics  Committee investigation and ultimately led to the indictment of the  delegation's organizer, Kemal Oksuz, who worked closely with Cuellar  to connect Azerbaijani oil executives with U.S. business leaders and  elected officials.

 

Undermining U.S. Interests and Democratic Principles

 

In a June 2024 Huffington Post op-ed calling for Cuellar's expulsion,  ANCA Policy Director Alex Galitsky and National Grassroots Director  Gev Iskajyan wrote: "As a matter of principle, Cuellar's alleged  transgressions should have warranted strong action regardless of  which government he had scandalous dealings with. But the fact that  Cuellar appears to have chosen to act on behalf of a regime engaged  in the torture of prisoners of war, the execution of civilians, the  systematic destruction of Armenian cultural heritage, and the  blockade and forced displacement of 150,000 Armenian civilians last  year demonstrates a contempt not only for our democratic process but  for the principles of human rights and international law that  supposedly underpin U.S.  foreign policy."

 

The op-ed continued: "In light of the gravity of the charges against  Cuellar, both Republicans and Democrats must realize there's much  more on the line than control of the House of Representatives. As the  U.S. hemorrhages credibility on the world stage amid its abject  failure to uphold the principles of democracy and human rights it  proclaims to hold dear, the refusal to expel Cuellar will only signal  to Azerbaijan-and other abusive regimes-that U.S. democracy is for  sale."

 

Trump's pardon sends precisely that signal: that foreign bribes to  members of Congress will be tolerated, that American democracy can  indeed be purchased by authoritarian regimes, and that there will be  no accountability for betraying the American people's trust.

 

Call for Congressional Action

 

The ANCA emphasized that Trump's pardon makes Congressional action  even more urgent. While the pardon may shield Cuellar from criminal  prosecution, it does nothing to restore the integrity of Congress or  accountability to the American people. The House of Representatives  retains its constitutional authority - and duty - to expel members  who have fundamentally betrayed their oath of office.

 

The ANCA is continuing its nationwide #ExpelCuellar campaign,  demanding Cuellar's immediate removal from Congress. The initiative  rallies grassroots activists across the country to press their  Representatives to vote for Cuellar's expulsion, to demand a House  Ethics Committee investigation into Azerbaijan's broader foreign  influence operations, and to bar Azerbaijani officials and registered  foreign agents from access to Capitol Hill until a full accounting of  this corruption is delivered.

 

Armenian Americans and all concerned citizens are urged to visit  anca.org/expel to contact their Representatives, demand Cuellar's  expulsion, and share resources with their networks.

 

"Recognizing Armenian-Americans as victims of Cuellar's conspiracy is  not just symbolic - it's a concrete step toward justice and  accountability," added Hamparian.  "Trump's pardon makes that  impossible in the courts. But Congress can still act. Only by  expelling Cuellar and dismantling Azerbaijan's illicit influence  operations can we restore faith in the integrity of U.S. policy on  issues of concern to Americans of Armenian heritage and our many  allies across our great nation."