A top aide to Rep. Henry Cuellar saw a hefty salary boost after he began acting as a middleman for alleged Mexican bribes, a review of campaign finance and congressional spending records show.
Colin Strother — a longtime Texas political consultant and a close confidant of the Texas Democrat — was paid more than $25,000 out of Cuellar’s taxpayer-funded congressional expense budget in 2016 and 2017, spending records show. Three people familiar with the congressman’s House staff do not recall Strother performing substantial work for the office or having any job title during that time.
“It’s typical for congressional offices to have outside advisers that weigh in but aren’t on staff,” one source said. “I wasn’t aware he was being paid at the time.”