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Records show that Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his staff took multiple sponsored trips to the country of Azerbaijan in recent years as he finds himself reportedly entangled in a federal probe investigating ties between U.S. businessmen and the former Soviet republic.
Documents obtained by Fox News show that in 2013, Cuellar and his wife took a $25,000 trip to Turkey and Azerbaijan which included a stay at a luxury hotel and was sponsored by the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians.
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 30: U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) speaks on southern border security and illegal immigration, during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 30, 2021 in Washington, DC. Cuellar urged the Biden administration to name former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson as a border czar. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
FEDERAL GRAND JURY SUBPOENAS REP. CUELLAR, WIFE, AND ASSOCIATES IN AZERBAIJAN-TIED PROBE: REPORT
The organization describes itself as “a leading independent and an umbrella organization committed to advancing the interaction among American and Turkish, Turkic and Eurasian people by bringing “people together by hosting public programs and private events featuring leaders and experts with diverse views on a wide range of global and regional topics through task forces, executive forums, luncheons, conferences, studies, and leadership dialogue.”
The trip was approved by the House Ethics Committee and, according to the Intercept, Turquoise Council president Kemal Oksuz told the committee that no foreign money was used to pay for the trip.
Oksuz pleaded guilty in 2018 for failing to disclose the fact that a different congressional trip to Azerbaijan in 2013, which Cuellar did not attend, had been paid for by a foreign government. Oksuz was convicted in 2019.
In May of 2013, Cuellar’s Deputy Chief of Staff Amy Travieso took a sponsored trip to Azerbaijan and stayed at the…
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Source : foxnews
