Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, one of the members of the so-called far-left “squad” of House Democrats, is the target of a Department of Justice criminal investigation.
According to multiple reports, the St. Louis Democrat is accused of misspending funds that were allocated for security.
Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman broke the news on the social media platform X on Tuesday morning.
“BREAKING NEWS — THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT is conducting a criminal probe into @CoriBush, according to six sources familiar with the investigation,” Sherman posted.
🚨BREAKING NEWS — THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT is conducting a criminal probe into @CoriBush, according to six sources familiar with the investigation.
The Justice Department subpoenaed the House Sergeant at Arms for records relating to the misspending of federal security money.…
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 30, 2024
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“The Justice Department subpoenaed the House Sergeant at Arms for records relating to the misspending of federal security money,” Sherman added.
According to the UK’s Daily Mail, Bush has spent over $750,000 of government funds on security in less than two full terms as a congresswoman.
Bush’s husband Cortney Merritts, who she married last year, worked as a security guard for her and was paid more than $60,000 of those funds while working for her re-election campaign in 2022, the New York Post reported last February.
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Merritts reportedly had no background in private security, nor any apparent training or licensures.
The DOJ has not yet commented on the scope of its investigation, but the Mail reported a nonprofit group called the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate Bush.
Merritts was paid a total of $62,000 to provide Bush with security.
Punchbowl News reporter Max Cohen reported after the news of the investigation broke that he had asked Bush in person about the criminal probe Monday evening.
Cohen said Bush “reprimanded” him for asking her about it and complained she was suffering a toothache.
I asked Cori Bush about the investigation directly last night. She repeatedly declined to comment and reprimanded me for approaching her as she had a toothache. https://t.co/Vskods0WYE
— Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) January 30, 2024
“I asked Cori Bush about the investigation directly last night,” Cohen stated. “She repeatedly declined to comment and reprimanded me for approaching her as she had a toothache.”
Bush was first elected to the House in 2020 and quickly aligned herself with “squad” Reps. Alexander Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
