Rep. “Squad” member campaign fees. Cori Bush to her husband, Cortney Merritts — who had pushed her into the crosshairs of the Justice Department — continued into December, newly released documents show.
The Bush (D-Mo.) campaign compensated Merritts an additional $17,500 across seven different payments for “wage expenses” in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
The new money comes on top of disbursements of about $105,209 to Merritts donated by the Bush campaign over the past two years, bringing the total up to about $122,710.
As of Dec. 31, 2023, the Bush campaign had about $215,571 in cash on hand, according to FEC records.
Bush, 47, has been a vocal supporter of the so-called “Defund the police” movement while defending his campaign spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on private security.
Recent FEC filings show that Cori Bush’s campaign donated an additional $17,500 to her husband in the last quarter.
On Tuesday, Bush confirmed that the DOJ “is reviewing my campaign spending on security services.” The disclosure came after the House sergeant-at-hand sent a notice informing Congress that it had received a federal subpoena, without providing any further details.
Over the past two years, Bush’s payments to the Merritts, whom he married in February 2023, were usually listed as “security services” or “wage expenses” with some smaller reimbursements for various items such as “gas expenses.”
Merritts past social media posts, which appear to have been scrubbed, show her traveling with him at least as early as 2021.
Under FEC rules, campaigns can only make payments to family members for “bona fide” services. AP
Bush insisted this week that she “retained my husband as part of my security team to provide security services because he has extensive experience in this field, and is able to provide the necessary services at or below fair market rates.”
Fox News Digital reported last year that Merritts was not licensed by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Louis to perform private security since 2012.
Several conservative watchdogs are looking into Bush’s campaign payments to her husband, with the Foundation for Civic Accountability and Trust filing an ethics complaint in March.
Merritts was paid despite not holding a private security license as required by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Louis since 2012. Cortney Merritts/Facebook
Bush confirmed this week that he also faces investigations from the FEC and the House Ethics Committee on the matter.
The congressman’s campaign also paid $380,948 to a firm based in St. Louis named PEACE Security from 2019 to June 2023, $73,807 to RS&T Security Consulting in 2021 and $164,838 to a man named Nathaniel Davis between 2020 and June 2023.
That adds up to more than $740,000 between the Merritts and the private firm.
Cori Bush’s campaign declined to comment further on the situation. Courtney Merritts/Facebook
Most of those payments were listed as “Security Services” with some miscellaneous expenses such as gasoline and transportation costs included.
Since last year, his campaign has shifted the language used to describe disbursements to Merritts from “Security Services” to “Wage Expenses.”
“Unfortunately, after our complaint was filed, Rep. Bush changed the language in her disclosures describing ongoing payments to her husband to something amorphous and vague, ‘wages,’ which at the very least runs counter to the intent of the law to clearly describe the purpose of campaign spending,” said FACT executive director Kendra Arnold. in a statement.
Federal prosecutors are launching a criminal investigation into progressive congresswoman Cori Bush. Twitter / @CortneyMerritt4
“Our hope, as always with our complaints, is that a thorough and fair investigation reveals the truth of the matter and whether any violations of the law have occurred.”
Bush has repeatedly claimed high-value security spending is necessary because of threats against him.
“As a rank and file member of Congress, I am not entitled to personal protection by the House and instead have used authorized campaign funds to maintain security services. I don’t use any federal tax money for personal security services,” he said this week.
Last fall, the Office of Congressional Ethics Board unanimously recommended that Bush be cleared of ethics complaints about payments to her husband.
Cori Bush has called for a ceasefire in Israel. Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
After the death of George Floyd in May 2020, which sparked a wave of national protests and racial reckoning, Bush supported efforts to “kill the cops.”
“I’m going to make sure I have security because I know I’ve tried my life and I have too much work to do,” he told CBS News in August 2021. “So if I end up spending $200,000, if I spend … 10 more dollars for that, you know what? I will be here to do the work.”
“So, find out, and fund the police needs to happen,” Bush added. “We need to deny the police money and put that money into the social safety net because we’re trying to save lives.”
The Bush campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Democrats are running for a third House term in 2024, but face a primary challenge from the St. Louis County District Attorney. Louis Wesley Bell.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
