Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar’s chief of staff, Jacob Hochberg, resigned on Monday following reports of Cuellar and his wife being indicted by the Department of Justice on bribery charges. Multiple sources confirmed Hochberg’s resignation, with congressional reporter Mica Soellner and CNN’s Haley Talbot sharing the news.
The DOJ’s indictments came after a two-year investigation that included a search warrant served by FBI agents at Cuellar’s home in Laredo, Texas. The charges allege that Cuellar and his wife accepted around $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company in Azerbaijan and a bank in Mexico City between 2014 and 2021.
The DOJ stated that the bribes were funneled through sham consulting contracts and shell companies owned by Cuellar’s wife, who did little actual work under the contracts. Subsequent raids on Cuellar’s properties and offices in 2022 further escalated the investigation.
Despite previous statements indicating Cuellar was not the primary focus of the probe, the charges against him and his wife are severe, with potential penalties including years of imprisonment if convicted. The DOJ’s statement outlined the various counts each of them face, highlighting the gravity of the alleged offenses.
