Following President Trump's pardon, the ANCA continues to call on Congress to expel Rep. Cuellar for taking Azerbaijani bribes.

ANCA References May 2024 Federal Indictment on Charges Related to Azerbaijan

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, December 9, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has requested that the U.S. House of Representatives hold a vote on the expulsion of Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX). This request follows President Trump's December 3, 2025 pardon of Cuellar and Trump's December 8, 2025 statement regarding that decision.

The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Cuellar in May 2024. The indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas charged Cuellar and his wife Imelda with accepting $598,000 from entities that court documents identify as controlled by the Government of Azerbaijan and a Mexico City-based bank.

Trump stated in a December 8 Truth Social post that Cuellar's decision to file as a Democrat for re-election represented a "lack of LOYALTY." Trump wrote: "Oh' well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!"

The ANCA's position is that the House retains authority to expel members under Article I, Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution regardless of presidential pardons. Article I, Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution provides that either chamber of Congress may expel a member with a two-thirds vote.

Federal Indictment Details

The May 2024 federal indictment 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."

Court documents include text message exchanges between Cuellar and individuals identified in the indictment as Azerbaijani officials. In one September 2017 exchange, Cuellar responded to a message about a Congressional Armenian Caucus amendment with "I see it. We work on it."
The indictment references coordination between Cuellar and Azerbaijani officials regarding amendments related to the Nagorno-Karabakh region. These amendments were proposed by Congressional Armenian Caucus members.

Court documents state that in January 2013, Cuellar traveled to Turkey and Azerbaijan. An email cited in the indictment from an Azerbaijani official stated: "[t]he good news is that Cuellar was just in Baku" and "[w]e need to work with these offices to make sure we build an anti-[Representative-1] coalition."

ANCA Victim Status Request

In September 2025, the ANCA submitted a request to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei seeking recognition of Armenian Americans as victims under the federal Crime Victims' Rights Act (18 U.S.C. § 3771). The organization's request argued that the conduct described in the indictment affected Armenian Americans' constitutional right to petition the government.

Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Armenian National Committee of America
+1 703-585-8254
anca@anca.org
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