Latest news with #HenryCuellar
New York Times
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Justice Dept. to Move Ahead With Bribery Case Against Cuellar
The Justice Department is moving ahead with its bribery case against Representative Henry Cuellar after an internal debate, despite President Trump's public expressions of support for the embattled Democrat from Texas, according to three people with knowledge of the situation. The department is, however, expected to withdraw charges against Mr. Cuellar under the Foreign Agents Registration Act stemming from his business dealings with Azerbaijan and Mexican citizens in accordance with Attorney General Pam Bondi's blanket order to scale back such prosecutions under the law, those people said. In May 2024, Mr. Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Houston on charges of participating in a yearslong $600,000 bribery scheme involving Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank. The congressman, who, as a native of Laredo, represents a swing district on the southern border at the center of Mr. Trump's immigration push, was accused of bribery and money laundering on behalf of an oil and gas company owned by Azerbaijan's leaders. Shortly after Ms. Bondi announced in February that she would narrow enforcement of foreign lobbying and bribery laws, a lawyer for Mr. Cuellar suggested he would assess the new tack and determine whether to raise it with the department. In mid-May of this year, Matthew R. Galeotti, an assistant attorney general, told Mr. Cuellar's legal team that prosecutors in the department's criminal and national security divisions had rejected the congressman's request that the case be dismissed, according to people briefed on the exchange who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The dismissal request by Mr. Cuellar's lawyer, Seth D. DuCharme — the former top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York — tracked closely with Mr. Trump's own legal and political strategy. He claimed that the Biden administration had weaponized the Justice Department to target Mr. Cuellar, the people familiar with the matter said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
How Texas could help ensure a GOP House majority in 2026
David Daley is the author of 'Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count' and 'Antidemocratic: Inside the Far Right's 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections.' They were two of the closest congressional races in the country this past November. In Texas's 34th District, between Brownsville and Corpus Christi, Democrat Vicente Gonzalez won by just more than 5,100 votes. Just to the west, in the 28th District, which runs between San Antonio and the Mexican border, voters reelected Henry Cuellar by less than five percentage points.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Yahoo
New Details Emerge in the Case of Angelina Resendiz, the 21-Year-Old Sailor Who Was Found Dead Near a Navy Base
New information has been revealed tied to the disappearance of a 21-year-old Navy sailor who was found dead on June 9 A Department of the Navy memo, sent to Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, confirmed that sailor Angelina Resendiz was last seen with another, unnamed sailor 'Angelina was a kind and compassionate young woman who brought light into our lives,' her mother previously said in a statementNew details have emerged in the case of the sailor who disappeared from her Virginia Navy base in May and was found dead days later. Authorities previously said Angelina Petra Resendiz was "last seen at her barracks in Miller Hall at Naval Station Norfolk" on May 29. She was later found dead in an off-base wooded area days later on June 9. Now, a Department of the Navy memo obtained and published this week by both CBS affiliate WTKR and NBC affiliate WAVY sheds more light on the timeline of events tied to Resendiz's death. In the memo, sent to Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, the Navy confirmed that Resendiz — who was assigned to the USS James E. Williams prior to her death — was last seen at the barracks of an unnamed sailor around 10 a.m. local time on May 29 during a wellness check on another sailor. Per the memo, Resendiz was on "authorized liberty" on May 29, meaning she had "no assigned duties" on the ship that day and was "not required to muster with her chain of command." Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. The Naval Station Norfolk Base Police first conducted a wellness check at 5:45 a.m. that day when an officer "reported that he could not locate CSSN Resendiz after she contacted him requesting to be picked up at the barracks." Police eventually entered her room, per the memo, and she was later located in the room assigned to another sailor hours later. Resendiz was expected to muster, or check in for duty, at 7:30 a.m. the following day but did not report, the memo said. At 9:30 a.m. on May 30, another wellness check was conducted on both her room and the room of the other sailor, whom she was last seen with, but "neither Sailor was located," according to the timeline of events provided by the Navy. The other sailor's name has not yet been released. The new details come weeks after Marshall Griffin, an attorney who represents Resendiz's mother, told WAVY that the Navy confirmed a man named Jermiah Copeland was detained or confined "on suspicion" in the case following an initial review officer's hearing at the Naval Consolidated Brig in Chesapeake. At the time, Griffin and a spokesperson for the U.S. Navy did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Griffin told WAVY that Copeland would remain in pretrial confinement and charges were not known at the time. Such hearings, Griffin added, determine 'whether the individual is a flight risk, or they're likely to engage in other misconduct, and consider the government's evidence whether a crime actually occurred.' A spokesperson for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) also confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE last month that a Navy sailor had been placed in "pretrial confinement" in connection with the case. Resendiz's body was found by the NCIS on June 9 in an off-base wooded area in Norfolk. The Norfolk Medical Examiner's Office verified on June 10 that her body was positively identified. The young woman's remains have since been transferred to the Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas. They were returned home by military personnel, according to KVEO, a local NBC and CBS affiliate. According to WAVY, Resendiz's mother, Esmeralda Castle, said that 'the person responsible for this horrific loss made deliberate choices that ended Angie's life." She added that their actions were "not a mistake." 'Angelina was a kind and compassionate young woman who brought light into our lives,' Castle said in a separate statement following her daughter's death, calling the loss 'a void in their hearts.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Yahoo
New Details Emerge in the Case of Angelina Resendiz, the 21-Year-Old Sailor Who Was Found Dead Near a Navy Base
New information has been revealed tied to the disappearance of a 21-year-old Navy sailor who was found dead on June 9 A Department of the Navy memo, sent to Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, confirmed that sailor Angelina Resendiz was last seen with another, unnamed sailor 'Angelina was a kind and compassionate young woman who brought light into our lives,' her mother previously said in a statementNew details have emerged in the case of the sailor who disappeared from her Virginia Navy base in May and was found dead days later. Authorities previously said Angelina Petra Resendiz was "last seen at her barracks in Miller Hall at Naval Station Norfolk" on May 29. She was later found dead in an off-base wooded area days later on June 9. Now, a Department of the Navy memo obtained and published this week by both CBS affiliate WTKR and NBC affiliate WAVY sheds more light on the timeline of events tied to Resendiz's death. In the memo, sent to Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, the Navy confirmed that Resendiz — who was assigned to the USS James E. Williams prior to her death — was last seen at the barracks of an unnamed sailor around 10 a.m. local time on May 29 during a wellness check on another sailor. Per the memo, Resendiz was on "authorized liberty" on May 29, meaning she had "no assigned duties" on the ship that day and was "not required to muster with her chain of command." Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. The Naval Station Norfolk Base Police first conducted a wellness check at 5:45 a.m. that day when an officer "reported that he could not locate CSSN Resendiz after she contacted him requesting to be picked up at the barracks." Police eventually entered her room, per the memo, and she was later located in the room assigned to another sailor hours later. Resendiz was expected to muster, or check in for duty, at 7:30 a.m. the following day but did not report, the memo said. At 9:30 a.m. on May 30, another wellness check was conducted on both her room and the room of the other sailor, whom she was last seen with, but "neither Sailor was located," according to the timeline of events provided by the Navy. The other sailor's name has not yet been released. The new details come weeks after Marshall Griffin, an attorney who represents Resendiz's mother, told WAVY that the Navy confirmed a man named Jermiah Copeland was detained or confined "on suspicion" in the case following an initial review officer's hearing at the Naval Consolidated Brig in Chesapeake. At the time, Griffin and a spokesperson for the U.S. Navy did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Griffin told WAVY that Copeland would remain in pretrial confinement and charges were not known at the time. Such hearings, Griffin added, determine 'whether the individual is a flight risk, or they're likely to engage in other misconduct, and consider the government's evidence whether a crime actually occurred.' A spokesperson for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) also confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE last month that a Navy sailor had been placed in "pretrial confinement" in connection with the case. Resendiz's body was found by the NCIS on June 9 in an off-base wooded area in Norfolk. The Norfolk Medical Examiner's Office verified on June 10 that her body was positively identified. The young woman's remains have since been transferred to the Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas. They were returned home by military personnel, according to KVEO, a local NBC and CBS affiliate. According to WAVY, Resendiz's mother, Esmeralda Castle, said that 'the person responsible for this horrific loss made deliberate choices that ended Angie's life." She added that their actions were "not a mistake." 'Angelina was a kind and compassionate young woman who brought light into our lives,' Castle said in a separate statement following her daughter's death, calling the loss 'a void in their hearts.' Read the original article on People
American Military News
11-07-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
Pic: 10 Stryker vehicles, US troops deployed to Texas border sector: Report
U.S. Border Patrol Laredo Sector confirmed on Tuesday that U.S. Army Stryker armored vehicles have arrived in Laredo, as 100 U.S. Army soldiers and 10 Stryker armored vehicles are reportedly expected to be deployed to the Texas border town to provide assistance to U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. According to KGNS, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) previously claimed that the U.S. military was planning to deploy roughly 100 Fort Bliss soldiers and 10 Stryker armored vehicles to the Laredo Sector to provide assistance to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. The outlet noted that the possibility of military troops and vehicles being deployed to Laredo was discussed by city officials on June 30. In a Tuesday video on Facebook, the U.S. Border Patrol's Laredo Sector announced the arrival of U.S. Army Stryker vehicles in the Texas town. The video shows the Stryker armored vehicles moving throughout the streets of Laredo alongside multiple soldiers. READ MORE: Illegal immigrants arrested in new military zone to be processed by CBP, official says In a statement accompanying the video, U.S. Border Patrol Laredo Sector wrote, 'No terrain is too tough! Laredo Sector has implemented the use of Strykers by the Department of Defense (DOD). DOD has played a crucial role in support of our agents, and the implementation of Army logistics has shown an even greater enhancement to help secure the southern border. #HonorFirst.' A picture of one of the Stryker armored vehicles was shared Friday on X, formerly Twitter. 100 soldiers and 10 small Stryker vehicles from the U.S. military are set to arrive to assist border protection along the riverbanks in Laredo. — WBKO News (@wbkotv) July 11, 2025 According to KGNS, under President Donald Trump's policies that have resulted in an unprecedented decrease in illegal immigrants crossing the southern border between the United States and Mexico, the Laredo Sector is only averaging roughly 13 border crossings per day. The deployment of Army Stryker armored vehicles and soldiers to the Laredo Sector comes as Trump's administration has created new military zones along the border as part of the president's crackdown on illegal immigration.
