Rep. Cori Bush under investigation over campaign spending

The Justice Department has launched an investigation into whether Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., misused campaign funds that she spent on security services, according to the congresswoman and multiple reports.

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“We are fully cooperating with this investigation,” Bush told reporters on Tuesday.

“Since before I was sworn into office, I have endured relentless threats to my physical safety and life. 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,” she added.

“I have not used any federal tax dollars for personal security services. Any reporting that I have used funds for personal security is simply false.”

Bush’s campaign has spent more than $700,000 on her personal security from the time she took office in January 2021 through September 2023, according to the latest campaign reports obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The funds include $104,000 paid to Bush’s husband, Cortney Merritts III, the newspaper reported.

Conservative watchdog groups have filed at least two complaints against Bush with the Federal Election Commission, according to NBC News. Under federal law, lawmakers can pay relatives for campaign work so long as they are “providing bona fide services to the campaign” and making payments that are not “in excess of fair market value,” the news network reported.

On Tuesday, Bush said that she has “complied with all applicable laws and House 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,” she said.

Bush’s comments come one day after the House clerk read a letter on the floor informing lawmakers that a grand jury had issued a subpoena for documents related to a Justice Department investigation, CNN reported.

The Justice Department did not immediately comment on the investigation.

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