Democratic Rep. Cori Bush says she and her staff are “fully cooperating” with a Justice Department probe looking into whether the congresswoman abused campaign funds for personal security services.
Bush confirmed on Tuesday that she’s under investigation by the Department of Justice, the Federal Election Commission, and the House Ethics Committee, after which she was met with notable criticism from GOP Rep. Troy Nehls, who noted Bush wouldn’t need protection from threats if she wasn’t “so loud all the time.”
The investigations stem from payments to her former security guard and now-husband Cortney Merritts, whom she married last year, which subjected her to intense scrutiny from GOP operatives and conservative watchdog agencies.
However, the Missouri Democrat defended employing her husband and said she retained his services because of his “extensive experience” in security.
“In particular, the nature of these allegations have been around my husband’s role on the campaign,” Bush said in a statement. “In accordance with all applicable rules, I retained my husband as part of my security team to provide security services because he has had extensive experience in this area, and is able to provide the necessary services at or below a fair market rate.”
Punchbowl News first reported the DOJ investigation this week. The Federal Election Commission was notified last March by a conservative political action committee alleging that Bush violated two federal campaign finance laws by misusing campaign expenditures to pay her husband outside of the legal scope. A watchdog agency also filed a similar complaint.
The U.S. House Ethics Committee stated they are “reviewing the matter.”
“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,” Bush’s statement reads. “I have not used any federal…
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