Far-left Rep. Cori Bush was slapped with a Federal Election Commission complaint Thursday after it was revealed that her campaign paid her now-husband to provide security — even though he didn’t have the required license.
The nonpartisan Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) requested that FEC acting general counsel Lisa Stevenson investigate whether the congresswoman — a vocal advocate of the “Defund the police” movement — “used campaign funds for personal use” when she shelled out $60,000 last year for the services of Cortney Merritts, whom Bush (D-Mo.) married in February.
“It appears Rep. Bush’s campaign may have made payments for services that were unnecessary or above fair market value because of her personal relationship with the payee,” FACT executive director Kendra Arnold wrote in the complaint. “If so, these payments would qualify as either impermissible payments to a family member or an impermissible gift.
“Therefore, we request the FEC investigate whether Rep. Bush converted campaign funds for personal use by paying a salary that was not for bona fide services at fair market value,” FACT wrote. “Ultimately, if one or more campaign laws are found to have been broken, we request the FEC hold the respondents accountable.”
FEC rules stipulate that campaigns may only spend money on “bona fide” services related to their official responsibilities. Payments to family members and for personal expenses are otherwise forbidden.
Bush, 46, has come under fire for having spent more than $500,000 on private security despite her passionate anti-cop rhetoric.
“I’m going to make sure I have security because I know I have had attempts on my life and I have too much work to do,” the former Black Lives Matter activist told CBS News in August 2021. “So, if I end up spending $200,000, if I spend … 10 more dollars on it, you know what? I get to be here to do the work.”
“So, suck it up,” she added, “defunding the police has to happen. We need to defund the police and put that money into social safety nets because we’re trying to save lives.”
Two St. Louis cops were fired that same year for moonlighting as security for Bush without first receiving permission from their superiors.
Bush’s campaign paid Merritts 24 installments of $2,500 in 2022 for security services — while also paying more than $225,000 to a St. Louis-based firm called PEACE Security and $50,000 to another security guard named Nathaniel Davis, FEC records show.
Fox News Digital reported Tuesday that Merritts was paid despite not holding a private security license, which is required by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, since 2012. The outlet also reported that Merritts was not licensed as a security official by the District of Columbia.
“Any time a member of Congress puts someone with a close personal relationship on the campaign payroll, increased scrutiny is necessary to ensure the legal standard has been met, which in this case is that the payments were for ‘bona fide services at a fair market value,'” Arnold said in a statement.
“Both the fact that reportedly Bush’s husband isn’t licensed to provide security services for which he was paid, and that she was simultaneously paying large amounts to another company for the same services raise red flags that warrant an investigation by the FEC,” she added.
Neither Bush’s campaign nor a spokeswoman for her congressional office immediately responded to a request for comment.
Bush is not the only “Squad” member to draw scrutiny for allowing campaign funds to flow to family. In 2021, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) funneled $2.9 million to a consulting firm owned by her husband, Tim Mynett, amounting to nearly 80% of its revenue that year.
