FEC Filings: Rep. Cori Bush, Already Under DOJ Investigation, Paid Husband Additional $17,500 in 2023

Representative Cori Bush, a Democrat from Missouri, arrives for a vote at the US Capitol i
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Olivia Rondeau

Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) is already under federal investigation for her alleged misuse of taxpayer funds to pay her husband a six-figure sum for “private security.” Now, new filings are showing that she paid him an additional $17,500 in 2023.

The Missouri progressive became the subject of a Justice Department probe Monday when the agency served the U.S. House sergeant at arms with a grand jury subpoena, Breitbart News reported at the time. According to Punchbowl News, which first broke the story, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking records related to Bush’s misspending of taxpayer funds allocated to representatives for personal security.

Bush’s latest filings, submitted to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) Wednesday evening, show that her campaign made seven additional payments for $2,500 each to her husband, Cortney Merritts, between October 1 and December 31, 2023.

This latest $17,500 brings the total to $120,000 paid to Merritts, who has been in a relationship with Bush “since before her Congressional tenure,” according to a statement her office obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The couple married in February 2023, more than a year after Bush had begun paying her companion for security services in January 2022. 

Rep. Cori Bush and her now-husband, Cortney Merritts, at the 2020 inauguration (Twitter).

Rep. Cori Bush and her now-husband, Cortney Merritts, at the 2020 inauguration (Twitter).

However, Bush’s committee switched the job description to “wage expenses” in April 2023.

“Politicians can pay family members from their committees as long as they provide ‘bona fide’ services at fair market value,” Fox News reports. “He pocketed the money as Bush’s campaign simultaneously spent significantly more with St. Louis-based companies such as PEACE Security for private detail.”

Overall, Bush has spent over $770,000 on security services.

The outlet noted that Merritts held previous jobs in the railroad industry and owned a moving company, but he did not have a private security license as of late February 2023.

“He also did not appear in a Washington, D.C., database of licensed security specialists,” the report added.

Bush confirmed that the DOJ is investigating her campaign spending, saying in a statement on Tuesday that her office is “fully cooperating.”

“Since before I was sworn into office, I have endured relentless threats to my physical safety and life,” Bush wrote on X. “As a rank-and-file member of Congress, I am not entitled to personal protection by the House, and instead have used campaign funds as permissible to retain security services.”

“These frivolous complaints have resulted in a number of investigations, some of which are still ongoing,” the “Squad” member continued. “The Federal Election Commission and the House Committee on Ethics are currently reviewing the matter, as is the Department of Justice. We are fully cooperating in all of these pending investigations”:

Bush also slammed Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) for calling the security payments “thug money.”

“She doesn’t even support the police. But the idea to pay her thug money to try to help protect her this and that, for what?” Nehls said to reporters. “Maybe if she wouldn’t be so loud all the time, maybe she wouldn’t be getting threats.”

The Democrat congresswoman responded by accusing Nehls of racism and endangering “black lives.”

“@RepTroyNehls just called my husband, a Black man and army veteran, a thug. And I’m the loud Black woman who needs to be silent in order to be safe from violence, or else?” Bush posted.

“This is the kind of rhetoric that endangers Black lives. He must apologize”:

“You should apologize to every law enforcement officer across the nation. I’m waiting,” Nehls hit back:

The DOJ’s latest probe into Bush echoes a similar investigation by the FEC.

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