Congressman Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, and his wife were indicted Friday by the Department of Justice, which alleged that the two had participated in bribery and money laundering with a Mexican bank and an Azerbaijani oil and gas company.

The indictment alleges that Mr. Cuellar and his wife accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from both the oil company and the bank, for which they allegedly agreed to advance the interests of the two entities in America.

Specifically, Mr. Cuellar allegedly agreed to favorably influence legislation on behalf of Azerbaijan’s government and to deliver a supportive speech on the floor of the House.

In a statement, Mr. Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, said that they are “innocent of these allegations” and that “we requested a meeting with the Washington D.C. prosecutors to explain the facts and they refused to discuss the case with us or hear our side.”

“Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas,” Mr. Cuellar said. “Before I took action, I proactively sought legal advice from the House Ethics Committee, who gave me more than one written opinion, along with an additional opinion from a national law firm.”

In 2013, Mr. Cellular traveled to Azerbaijan, according to federal disclosures. In 2015, Mr. Cuellar’s office announced a collaboration between a university in Texas and an organization called the Assembly of Friends of Azerbaijan.

The FBI searched Mr. Cellular’s house at Laredo, Texas, in 2022, though, at the time, Mr. Ceullar’s attorney said that he was not the target of an investigation. According to the Associated Press the search was part of a broader investigation related to Azerbaijan that resulted in a number of interviews and subpoenas.

In 2022, Mr. Cuellar, a rare Democrat who opposes abortion, won a hotly contested primary, after a recount, by 289 votes. The heat from the FBI raid played a major role in the campaign. Mr. Cuellar has made clear he plans to run again. He won re-election in 2022 by nearly 13 points.

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, who leads the Democrats in the House, had previously endorsed Mr. Cuellar and said that he is “entitled to his day in court and the presumption of innocence throughout the legal process.”

Mr. Jeffries did note that Mr. Cuellar would be stepping down as the ranking member on the House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee, as is required when a member of Congress is indicted. Similarly, Senator Menendez was forced to step down as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee after he was indicted for taking bribes and helping the government of Egypt.

In addition to his opposition to abortion, Mr. Cuellar is an outlier in his party for his criticism of President Biden on border policy.