Democratic Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri) is facing a Justice Department investigation into her campaign’s security spending, including payments to her husband, but her campaign finances are tight and she has no cash on hand. is lagging behind Democratic primary candidates.
The Bush campaign is struggling to maintain funding six months after the Aug. 6 Democratic primary. In fact, her committee’s latest filings show she entered January with just $215,000 in funds at her disposal. Her opponent, Wesley Bell, a progressive prosecuting attorney in St. Louis County who differs from Mr. Bush on his position on Israel, is currently well-positioned and has $408,000 in the bank. Finished the fourth quarter.
Mr. Bell has also seen a surge in fundraising since he moved from challenging Republican Sen. Josh Hawley to running against Mr. Bush in the Democratic primary. From early October to late December, his campaign raised $492,000, slightly more than Mr. Bush. He reportedly added another $100,000 in the first few weeks of January, his campaign said. Riverfront Timeswhich is not included in his latest application.
Cori Bush’s campaign paid her husband an additional $17,500, bringing the total to $120,000, new filings show.
Rep. Cori Bush’s campaign entered January with just $215,000 in available cash. (Getty Images)
Along the way, Bell has also garnered support from some deep-pocketed Democratic donors, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who contributed up to $6,600 to campaigns in the primary and general election. This is shown in Mr. Bell’s submissions.
Recent polls show that President Bush may also find himself in trouble in August.Bell is currently a member of the “Squad” new york post report.
In addition to her campaign’s substandard standing, Ms. Bush is under intense scrutiny over a federal investigation into her campaign payments, including those to her husband, Courtney Merritt, whom she married in February 2023. At the time of her marriage, Mr. Bush’s office announced that the two were married. They have been together since before she entered Congress in 2021.
Merritt began setting aside funds for security services in January 2022. However, in April 2023, Bush’s committee changed the description to “personnel costs” as it continued to closely monitor the election campaign.
Mr. Merritt has now raised $120,000 from Mr. Bush’s campaign fund. Politicians can compensate families by commissions if they provide “honest” services at a fair market price. He pocketed the money at the same time the Bush campaign was spending significantly more money on private details to St. Louis-based companies such as PEACE Security. She spent more than $770,000 on such services.
WATCH: Cori Bush’s husband in dispute over thousands of dollars in cash received from campaign
Congresswoman Cori Bush is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Communications Workers of America)
According to Merritt’s online accounts and posts, he worked for a railroad company for years before starting his own moving company. He did not have a private security license as of late February 2023, Fox News Digital previously reported. He also did not appear in a database of licensed security professionals in Washington, D.C., at the time.
The ordeal prompted at least two complaints from watchdog groups in the weeks that followed. The original complaint, filed with the FEC by the Accountability and Citizen Trust Foundation in March 2023, is still pending. The Ethics Commission later acquitted Mr. Bush of a second charge brought by the Commission to Overthrow the President.
“Even before I was sworn into office, I have endured relentless threats to my physical safety and life,” Bush previously told the Justice Department. “As a rank-and-file member, I am not entitled to personal protection by the House of Commons and have instead used campaign funds to the extent permissible to maintain security services.”
Congresswoman Cori Bush is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice. (Getty Images)
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“These frivolous complaints have led to numerous investigations, some of which are ongoing,” Bush said. “The Federal Election Commission and the House Ethics Committee are currently reviewing this matter, as is the Department of Justice. We are fully cooperating with all of these pending investigations.”
Bush and Bell’s campaigns did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
