[ad_1]
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., speaks at a news conference about the war between Israel and Hamas outside the Capitol late last year.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
hide title
toggle title
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., speaks at a news conference about the war between Israel and Hamas outside the Capitol late last year.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., confirmed Tuesday that the Justice Department is investigating her campaign’s spending on security services.
“Since taking office, I have endured relentless threats to my physical safety and my life,” Bush said in remarks on the steps of the US Capitol. “As a rank-and-file member of Congress, I am not entitled to personal protection from the House and have instead used campaign funds as permitted to hire security services.”
Bush says he is cooperating fully. The Justice Department declined to comment.
The St. Louis Democrat says she hired her now-husband as part of her security team and claims he can provide services at or below market rates.
Congressional ethics rules Members of the House of Representatives allow family members to receive payments from campaign funds for “good faith services,” as long as the payments do not exceed “fair market value.”
In addition to the Justice Department investigation, Bush says the Federal Election Commission and the House Ethics Committee are also reviewing the matter.
According to Bush, the Congressional Ethics Office, staffed by career government employees, found no evidence of wrongdoing in an investigation last year and voted unanimously to dismiss the case.
The investigation first came to light on Monday, when House Clerk publicly reported legislators of a subpoena received by the House Sergeant-at-Arms.
Security concerns are top of mind for many lawmakers following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. In 2023, the Capitol Police investigated more than 8,000 threats against legislators, compared to approximately 5,200 in 2018.
Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was attacked at the couple’s home in 2022, where a politically motivated attacker hit him with a hammer and left him unconscious in a pool of his own blood.
[ad_2]
Source link