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Two political consultants agreed to plead guilty to charges that they conspired with U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar to launder more than $200,000 in bribes from a Mexican bank, according to recently unsealed court documents that show the consultants are cooperating with the Justice Department in its case against the Laredo Democrat.

Cuellar, a powerful South Texas Democrat, was indicted with his wife Imelda on charges of accepting almost $600,000 in bribes from Azerbaijan and a Mexican commercial bank, Banco Azteca. The indictment, unsealed last week, accuses Cuellar of taking money from the bank in exchange for influencing the Treasury Department to work around an anti-money laundering policy that threatened the banks interests. Cuellar allegedly recruited his former campaign manager, Colin Strother, and another consultant, Florencio "Lencho" Rendon, to facilitate the payments, according to court records.

Rendon and Strother both struck plea deals with the Justice Department in March, in which they agreed to cooperate in the agencys investigation of the Cuellars. They each face up to 20 years in prison and six-figure fines for charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The plea deals, which were first reported by the San Antonio Express-News, allege that Cuellar first asked Strother to meet with Rendon in February 2016 to participate in a project to test and certify a fuel additive made by a Mexican company so that it could be sold in the United States. Rendon told Strother he would pay him $11,000 a month for the project, $10,000 of which Strother would pass on to Imelda Cuellar, according to the plea agreements.

Rendon paid Strother a total of $261,000 from March 2016 through June 2019, more than $236,000 of which Strother then paid to Imelda Cuellar, the documents allege. Strother concluded the project was a sham, according to his plea deal, because neither Rendon nor Imelda Cuellar did any legitimate work. Strother understood that the true purpose of the payments was to funnel money to Henry Cuellar without the Laredo Democrat having to reveal it in his annual financial disclosures.

Cuellar has asserted his innocence, releasing a statement Friday in which he said his actions were consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people. He faces charges of bribery, money laundering and working on behalf of a foreign government.

Cuellar, a member of Congress since 2005, has considerable influence in Washington thanks to his long tenure and his spot on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. He was the top Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees funding for homeland security, a position he automatically forfeited under a House Democratic rule that requires a committee chair to step down if they are indicted on a crime carrying a possible prison sentence of more than two years.

As part of their plea agreements, Rendon and Strother agreed to testify before a grand jury or in any other judicial or administrative proceeding when called upon to do so by the United States. Each also agreed to turn over all documents in his possession or under his control relating to all areas of inquiry and investigation.

Rendons plea agreement also outlines the origins of the alleged bribery scheme, citing a series of 2015 meetings allegedly orchestrated by Cuellar at which Rendon and Banco Azteca executives discussed U.S. regulatory issues that were hampering the banks efforts to facilitate remittances, or the transfer of money from Mexican workers in the United States to their relatives in Mexico.

Soon after, Rendon allegedly signed a contract that would pay him $15,000 a month to provide strategic consulting and advising services for an unnamed U.S.-based media and television company that shared common ownership under a Mexican conglomerate with Banco Azteca, according to Rendons plea documents.

Rendon would then send Strother $11,000 of the monthly payments, keeping $4,000 for his own consulting firm, with the understanding that Strother would keep $1,000 for himself and forward the remaining $10,000 to Imelda Cuellars company, according to the court records. Rendon and Henry Cuellar allegedly never discussed having Rendon, Strother or Imelda Cuellar perform any work in relation to the contract, according to the plea agreement, which led Rendon to conclude that the contract was a sham and part of a scheme devised to funnel money from the bank to Henry Cuellar.

In its indictment of Henry Cuellar, the Justice Department alleged that the Laredo Democrat in exchange for accepting bribes agreed to advise and pressure officials in the executive branch to set up mechanisms that would help cross-border transactions crucial to Banco Aztecas business.

He also allegedly tipped off the banks vice chairman about a bill that would temporarily bar the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from making new regulations on the payday lending industry. Cuellar then coordinated with a U.S.-based subsidiary of the Mexican bank on language in defense of the bill, according to the indictment. The subsidiary was a payday lending company.

The indictment said Cuellar and his wife used the bribe money to cover credit card payments, taxes, car payments, dining and shopping, including $12,000 on a custom gown. It also said one of the Cuellars adult children assisted in the creation of the sham shell companies used to launder funds. The Cuellars have two adult children: Christy and Catie.

The Cuellars allegedly negotiated the agreement with Banco Azteca around the same time they were setting up a scheme to accept payments from Azerbaijans state-run oil and gas company, which were also laundered through fake consulting contracts to shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar, according to the indictment.

In exchange, Henry Cuellar allegedly pushed U.S. policy that favored Azerbaijan, an oil-rich former Soviet country that borders Iran and Russia on the Caspian Sea. That included adding language to defense spending legislation to prioritize ties to countries in the region, including with Azerbaijan, and working to kill legislation prioritized by members who supported Armenian interests, the indictment alleges.

Azerbaijan had been engaged in a long-running border dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave made up of largely ethnic Armenians, until Azerbaijan forcibly retook control of the territory last year. Cuellar coordinated with Azerbaijani diplomats to eliminate legislation that would finance land mine clearing in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2017, according to the indictment, which cited text messages between Cuellar and a diplomat.

After news of the indictment landed, Cuellar affirmed that he still plans to seek reelection in November. Two Republicans, Navy veteran Jay Furman and rancher Lazaro Garza Jr., are facing off in a May 28 runoff to decide the GOP nominee in Cuellars district, which stretches from the border to the San Antonio suburbs.

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election forecasting site, updated its rating for the district from likely Democratic to lean Democratic in response to Cuellars indictment. Cuellar, often ranked ideologically as the most conservative Democrat in the U.S. House, won reelection in 2022 by 13 percentage points, though Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto ORourke carried the district by a narrower 5-point margin.

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Two political consultants plead guilty in Henry Cuellar bribery case - The Texas Tribune

New York state Sen. Timothy Kennedy, a Democrat, has won the Empire State’s special election to fill retired Democratic Rep. Brian Higgins’s seat in Congress, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ.

Kennedy defeated Republican Gary Dickson in New York’s 26th Congressional district for the seat, which was expected to stay in Democratic hands — but the race still drew scrutiny as the GOP grapples with a razor-thin majority.

Both candidates were picked by local party officials to be their respective nominees for the special election. Kennedy will serve out the rest of Higgins’s unexpired term. 

Higgins resigned from Congress this February after nearly two decades in the House, citing growing dysfunction and the “slow and frustrating” pace of progress in D.C., and now serves as president and CEO of Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo. The longtime lawmaker was among a number of House members who announced they wouldn’t seek reelection amid frustration with chaos on Capitol Hill. 

The New York district runs along the Niagara River, including the cities of Buffalo and Niagara Falls. A 2022 mass shooting in Buffalo prompted Kennedy to champion gun safety legislation in the New York state Senate. 

Dickson, the GOP contender in Tuesday’s special election, was the first Republican elected as a town supervisor in decades in West Seneca. 

Kennedy will finish the rest of the year in Higgins’s seat – but the Democrat is also on the November ballot to take on a full term in the House, according to the New York State Board of Elections. 

The election comes as former President Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is on trial in Manhattan. In the first of Trump’s four criminal indictments to go before a jury, he faces felony charges of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment made during the 2016 cycle. 

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Democrat wins special election for Rep. Brian Higginss seat in New York - The Hill

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Speaker Mike Johnson. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

House Democratic leadership on Tuesday confirmed what has long been rumored: If Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) introduces a motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), they will help kill it.

Why it matters: It could be the nail in the coffin for Greene's motion to vacate, which has already struggled due to a lack of Republican support.

What they're saying: "We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Motion to Vacate the Chair," Jeffries and his deputies, Reps. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), said in a statement.

By the numbers: Just two right-wing House Republicans have signed onto Greene's motion to vacate, enough to remove Johnson only if virtually every Democrat voted with them.

Between the lines: There's also significant discomfort among Democrats with the idea of again joining the GOP's right flank to topple a speaker.

The bottom line: "From the very beginning of this Congress, House Democrats have put people over politics and found bipartisan common ground with traditional Republicans in order to deliver real results," the Democratic leaders said.

Go deeper: Democrats throw Johnson a lifeline on motion to vacate

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional context and comment from House Democratic leadership.

More:
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries vows to save Mike Johnson from MTG's motion to vacate - Axios

The simmering debate over the fate of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) reached a rolling boil on Tuesday when top Democrats vowed to shield the embattled GOP leader from a conservative coup — and immediately prompted the coup’s ringleader to pledge a vote to boot him from power.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who’s been sitting on her motion to vacate resolution for more than a month, said the Democrats’ promised rescue mission was the last straw in a long list of grievances she’s compiled against the Speaker since he won the gavel in October. In a scorching statement, she accused Johnson of cutting “slimy” deals with Democrats, urged him to switch parties and vowed to force the full House to vote on his removal.

“If the Democrats want to elect him Speaker (and some Republicans want to support the Democrats’ chosen Speaker), I’ll give them the chance to do it,” she posted on the social platform X.

“I’m a big believer in recorded votes because putting Congress on record allows every American to see the truth and provides transparency to our votes,” Greene continued. “Americans deserve to see the Uniparty on full display. I’m about to give them their coming out party!”

But Greene is keeping her cards close to her chest, refusing to say as of press time when she plans to force her resolution to the floor.

Greene declined to speak with reporters Tuesday when entering the House chamber — “I have to go vote” — then marched into the parliamentarian’s office afterwards alongside Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a co-sponsor of the motion to vacate.

“Plans are still developing,” she told reporters on her way out of the Capitol.

The Georgia Republican has scheduled a press conference for 9 a.m. Wednesday, where she intends to detail her plan.

Greene’s fiery threat came less than an hour after the top three House Democrats — Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (Calif.) — issued an unprompted statement announcing their intent to protect Johnson from Greene’s effort to remove his gavel. The plan is not to have Democrats vote for Johnson’s Speakership directly, but to support a proposal to table Greene’s resolution — a procedural move preventing it from ever reaching the floor.

“There is a distinction there,” Aguilar told reporters.  

The strategy was not quite a surprise: A number of rank-and-file Democrats had pledged to help Johnson remain in power if he ensured passage of key legislation, including aid for Ukraine, and Democratic leaders said nothing publicly to discourage that unusual offer. 

Still, for the minority party to swoop in to keep a majority leader in power is unprecedented, and it highlights the extraordinary difficulties facing GOP leaders as they try to manage their hard-line critics with a hairline majority and steer legislation to President Biden’s desk. 

A number of Democrats said they simply wanted to reward Johnson for responsible governance and bring some stability to the volatile lower chamber. 

“It would be wrong to have Marjorie Taylor Greene drag him down into the gutter and drown him down there,” Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) said. “We’re not going to allow that.”

Still, Democrats rarely see eye to eye with Johnson, a staunch conservative and devout evangelical. And those frictions escalated in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, when the news emerged that Johnson, a former constitutional lawyer, had devised the legal reasoning behind the GOP effort to overturn the 2020 election. 

Democrats discussed that track record during a closed-door caucus meeting in the Capitol on Tuesday morning, where party leaders announced their plan to help Johnson survive a revolt.

“People talked about how he was the architect of the ‘Big Steal’ denial and the legal challenge there. So he did not come to this with clean hands,” Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) said. “However, I think most members appreciate that we’re back in operative mode here, and we’re actually doing some things that are very, very important.” 

Others were much more passionate in their criticisms. 

“He’s dangerous, he’s an election denier, he’s a fundamentalist, and he’s not the leadership this country needs,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) said. 

For many Democrats, however, rescuing Johnson is preferable to allowing Greene to shut down the House, as a different group of conservatives had done in ousting former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in October.

“It’s not lost on me, the role that Mike Johnson played in the lead-up to Jan. 6,” said Aguilar, who sat on the Jan. 6 investigative committee. “However, we want to turn the page. We don’t want to turn the clock back and let Marjorie Taylor Greene dictate the schedule and the calendar of what’s ahead.” 

The prospect that Democrats would keep Johnson in power sparked immediate questions about the impact on the Speaker’s standing in a GOP conference where conservatives are already furious at him for cutting bipartisan deals on big-ticket legislation.

Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) said a Democratic rescue mission would only “intensify” Johnson’s image problem among many Republican voters, who might come to believe he doesn’t fight hard enough for conservative priorities. But the change would be “in degree,” he added, “not in kind.”

“Speaker Johnson, a person for whom I have warm feelings, has formed a habit of passing legislation for Democrats. And he’s done it repeatedly,” Bishop said.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), another frequent leadership critic, offered a similar assessment of the potential fallout. 

“We’ve been passing bills with Democrat votes all year anyways,” Roy said. “I’m not sure what difference it makes.”

Johnson, for his part, brushed off concerns about serving as a Speaker propped up by Democrats, describing his job as one that leads the entire House and not just the GOP conference.

“I am a conservative Republican — a lifelong conservative Republican. That’s what my philosophy is, that’s what my record is, and we’ll continue to govern on those principles,” Johnson said Tuesday.

“We shouldn’t be playing politics and engaging in the chaos that looks like palace intrigue here.”

The Democratic statement opposing Johnson’s ouster was just the latest blow to Greene’s vacate effort, which has failed to gain traction among Republicans.

A number of hard-line conservatives have said that, with elections quickly approaching, they simply don’t want to plunge the conference into a state of chaos.

“The sentiment is, and I’m taking this viewpoint, it’s not the right time to do this,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said.

“Mike Johnson, saying all that, is a good man. He’s doing, in his mind, what he thinks is right,” Norman added. “Did he draw the red line with Biden? No. Did he take the Schumer-Pelosi-McConnell bill? Yes. But it is what it is.”

Making matters worse for Greene, former President Trump — of whom Greene considers herself a close ally — has sided with Johnson over the Georgia Republican.

“I stand with the Speaker, we’ve had a very good relationship,” Trump said during a joint press conference with Johnson at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month.

Michael Whatley, chair of the Republican National Committee, spoke to Republicans during their closed-door conference meeting Tuesday and delivered a message Trump passed along to him the night before: stay unified.

“We can only win through unity,” Whatley told lawmakers of Trump’s message, according to a House Republican at the meeting.

That waning support for Greene and her own waffling have led some to believe she was backing away from her ouster threat. Greene declined to force a vote on removing the Speaker after the House approved Ukraine aid — which she staunchly opposed — and she skipped votes on Monday, allowing her to evade questions from reporters.

Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), a frequent critic of GOP leadership, said Monday, “I don’t think it’s gonna come up.” And the House Republican who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic described Greene on Tuesday morning as having “cold feet.”

But the tides turned after the top Democrats issued their statement, prompting Greene’s vow to force a vote on the resolution.

Now, some Republicans are aiming their fire at the GOP lawmaker — and at least one is accusing her of hypocrisy.

“To remove Mike Johnson would require Marjorie Taylor Greene teaming up with Democrats. So it’s kind of ironic for her to sit here on the one hand and decry the uniparty and say, ‘Oh, Democrats are gonna save Mike Johnson,’” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said. “She would need Democrats to remove Mike Johnson. So it’s a bunch of nonsense, frankly, what she’s talking about.”

The rest is here:
Fight over Johnsons fate heats to a boil as Democrats vow unprecedented rescue - The Hill

Indianas largest teachers union gave its official support to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick on Wednesday, citing her common sense and bipartisanship approach to state politics and education policy.

Speaking on the south steps of the Statehouse Wednesday morning, Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA) President Keith Gambill announced its political action committee, I-PACE, has endorsed McCormick, a former teacher and principal who served as Indianas final elected superintendent of public instruction from 2017 to 2021.

I cant teach a kid thats not there. Indiana lawmakers give final approval to absenteeism bill

Shes the only gubernatorial candidate on the Democratic primary ballot and has already effectively secured her place on the November ballot.

There are six candidates vying for the Republican nomination. The victor will face McCormick and Libertarian nominee Donald Rainwater who was chosen in a party convention in the general election.

Today, as we face continuous challenges that threaten the fabric of public education, we need a leader like Dr. McCormick, someone who understands these issues deeply not just from the perspective of policy but through the lens of personal experience as a teacher, and a principal and an administrator, Gambill said. I call upon all supporters of public education, all who believe in a brighter future for Indiana, to stand with us. Stand with a leader who has proven she can uplift our educational standards and advocate tirelessly for our needs.

Speaking to a small crowd at the announcement event, McCormick emphasized that Indiana must reinvest in its traditional public schools not private voucher programs in order to reverse lagging literacy, increase teacher recruitment and retention, and improve overall outcomes for Hoosier students.

As the governor, I will be committed to kids kids first, always. I will tell you, though, in order to make that promise come true, we must take care of our teachers, McCormick said. If we take care of our teachers and give them the support that they dont only need, but that they deserve, everybody wins. Our kids win. Our families win. Our communities win. The State of Indiana wins. We need to make sure that is the goal.

I-PACEs endorsement provides McCormicks campaign with financial support and other resources, Gambill said. The PAC currently has about $1.3 million cash on hand, according to state campaign finance filings. Gambill said the committee hasnt decided if it will support any other statewide candidates yet.

Lawmakers seek to require science of reading in all Indiana schools to improve literacy rates

A former Republican, McCormick fell out of favor with the Indiana GOP while serving as state superintendent.

The Republican-controlled legislature with approval from Gov. Eric Holcomb eliminated the elected position and replaced it with a Secretary of Education, who is appointed by the governor.

McCormick switched sides to become a Democrat shortly after. She announced her campaign for governor in May 2023 and formally filed to run in February.

Angie Hood, an educator in Warren Township in Indianapolis, said that in her 25 years of teaching, things have drastically changed and not for the better. She said she wants to see McCormick in office to better support teachers and the tools they need in their classrooms.

Theres been a lot of push for testing. Unfortunately, with the push for testing, we have seen a decline in students mental health as well as teachers mental health because it is a lot of stress on the young people, and they feel like theyre being tested too much. And they are not being encouraged to use the different sensory skills in order to learn, Hood said.

Jennifer understands that schools must meet the needs of individual students, she continued. She believes that all students can learn with appropriate support, starting with early childhood through post-secondary education. Her common sense approach is needed to move our community forward.

In her remarks, McCormick criticized existing statewide education policies, including changes to teacher licensure requirements and increased standardized testing for students.

She specifically took aim at a new law passed earlier this year that requires educators for Pre-K to Grade 6 to complete 80 hours of professional development on science of reading concepts and pass a written exam. Teachers wont be able to renew their license without doing so.

Stacy Kurdelak, a special education teacher at Rensselaer Central High School, said the new rule makes her and her colleagues feel disrespected.

Along with my 28 years of experience, I hold a masters degree, I have a professionalized Indiana teaching license in four areas, and I am consistently evaluated as highly effective by my building administrator. But, according to the state, it is no longer enough, said Kurdelak, who voiced support for McCormick on Wednesday.

Indiana schools get legislative green light to break up ILEARN testing throughout school year

I think it was a knee-jerk reaction to the literacy rate problem, McCormick added. I thought it was sloppy, at best. And I just think it was a knee-jerk reaction to appease that theyre doing something under the Republican Party.

McCormick noted, too, that existing literacy intervention programming for the states youngest students has underfunded for years. Dollars needed for local school districts to host summer school have also been cut short, she said.

She maintained that increased funding for those areas would be a more effective use of state resources for ensuring Hoosier kids are on track with reading. Looking at the root causes of literacy deficiencies will be expensive, though, she said.

Education makes up just over 50% of the states biennial budget. Lawmakers will convene and craft the next budget during the 2025 legislative session.

The Democratic hopeful also criticized a separate new law that will require IREAD standardized testing to begin in second grade and continue into third grade. Students who fail the test three times will be held back and have to repeat third grade.

McCormick said investments in childcare and providing universal pre-K education would be better approaches. If elected, those are the types of issues she promised her administration would focus on.

(Voters) are tired of extremism. Theyre tired of infighting amongst the party. They want a focus on everyday issues impacting our lives, like taking away our healthcare rights and freedoms, like not having access to affordable healthcare, like not having access to great paying jobs. Theyre worried about our public schools. Theyre worried about their kids education. Theyre worried about our environment, McCormick said. They want to see someone who can have those conversations in a civil, calm, commonsense, bipartisan way.

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Democrat Jennifer McCormick gets teacher union endorsement in race for Indiana governor Indiana Capital Chronicle - Indiana Capital Chronicle