AP, Texas Tribune and other newsrooms ask court to unseal Henry Cuellar search warrant

[TexasTowelie]

by Matthew Choi, Texas Tribune


The Texas Tribune and other national and local news organizations on Tuesday asked a federal court to unseal a search warrant used in the January FBI raid of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s Laredo home and campaign office.

The raid was a remarkable move by the executive branch on a sitting lawmaker given the search’s proximity to Cuellar’s competitive March 1 primary. The details of the raid have not been officially released, but Cuellar’s attorney, Joshua Berman, has said that the congressman is not the target of a federal investigation. Cuellar has also said that the raid will show he has done no wrong.

Shortly after the raid, ABC News reported that a grand jury sought records related to Cuellar, his wife and one of his campaign staffers over connections to Azerbaijan. Cuellar is a member of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus and often speaks out advocating for the oil-rich country. The Associated Press confirmed the report.

“The adequacy (or inadequacy) of the Justice Department’s guidance on taking overt investigative steps close-in-time to an election is a subject of keen public interest and a source of recurring public debate,” the news organizations write in their request.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/16/henry-cuellar-fbi-raid-search-warrant/