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WASHINGTON – Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., is being investigated by the Justice Department over her campaign spending on security services, she confirmed in a statement Tuesday.
“We are cooperating fully in this investigation,” Bush said, denying any wrongdoing.
As a former Black Lives Matter organizer and high-profile progressive on Capitol Hill, Bush has faced what she called “relentless threats to my physical safety and my life” since her election in 2020.
“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 continued in his statement. “I have not used federal tax money for personal security services. Any reports that I have used federal funds for personal security are simply false.”
The Justice Department declined to comment.
The Justice Department had recently issued a grand jury subpoena to the House sergeant-at-arms seeking documents, a fact that became public on the House floor on Monday. But the focus of the federal investigation was not revealed at the time.
Two sources confirmed Monday night that The Justice Department was investigating a Democratic lawmaker’s use of security funds, but the member remained unidentified. PunchBowl News first reported Tuesday that Bush, who represents St. Louis, is the Democrat under investigation.
Bush, who unseated Rep. Lacy Clay in the 2020 Democratic primary, came under scrutiny last February when he married his security guard, Cortney Merritts, and then kept him on his campaign payroll for providing security services, according to him St. Louis after shipping.
Conservative watchdog groups filed at least two complaints against Bush with the Federal Election Commission. While federal law prohibits lawmakers from paying family members to work in their official offices, they are allowed pay family members for campaign work as long as “the family member is providing good faith services to the campaign.” However, payments “in excess of fair market value” are prohibited, the law states.
Bush, in her statement Tuesday, acknowledged that she hired her husband as part of her security team “because he has extensive experience in this area and is able to provide the necessary services at or below fair market rates.”
An NBC News review of Bush’s campaign spending found that she has spent $756,748.42 on security since her first run for Congress in the 2018 cycle.
The congresswoman accused “right-wing” opponents of making “unfounded complaints against me” and noted that the independent Office of Congressional Ethics had investigated the matter and voted unanimously to dismiss it. However, the bipartisan House Ethics Committee has not closed the case.
“I have no illusions that these right-wing organizations will stop politicizing and making efforts to attack me and the job the people of St. Louis sent me to Congress to do: lead boldly, legislate the change my constituents can feel, and save lives,” Bush said.
The secretary publicly informed the legislators of the subpoena request when the House opened its session Monday, but few details were provided.
“This is to formally notify you pursuant to Rule 8 of the Rules of the House of Representatives that the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives has received a grand jury subpoena for documents issued by the United States Department of Justice. Joined. ” said House Reading Clerk Susan Cole, reading a notice from House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland.
“After consulting with the General Counsel of the House, I have determined that compliance with the subpoena is consistent with the rights and privileges of the House,” McFarland’s statement, read by Cole, continued.
A spokesman for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement that Bush has “the right to the presumption of innocence.”
“Representative Cori Bush has indicated that she is cooperating fully with the Department of Justice regarding the ongoing investigation,” said Jeffries spokeswoman Christie Stephenson, adding that they expected the investigation to “follow the facts, apply the law and be carried out in a professional manner.”
Representatives of House Republican leaders declined to comment.
Asked about Bush at a leadership news conference, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said Tuesday he had no comment and called it “something for the Justice Department.” .
“I haven’t spoken to her,” Aguilar said.
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