(Abdul–Rahman Oladimeji Bello, Headline USA). Squad leftist Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., recently got married to her security guard, which sparked some ethical concerns because her campaign paid $60,000 to Cortney Merritts, now husband, as security payments. However, the matter has passed the line of ethics and he is now being accused of breaking the law.
To perform private security services in St. Louis, an individual must have a private security license. According to Fox News, Merritts does not have a license to operate in the area. Yet, he pocketed payments running into thousands of dollars from Bush’s campaign.
The fishy financial transactions have now also land Bush in hot water, according to the Washington Examiner. The government watchdog group Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust has asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate Bush for using campaign cash to line her own coffers by funneling money to her security guard husband.
“Any time a member of Congress puts someone with a close personal relationship on the campaign payroll, increased scrutiny is necessary to ensure the legal standard has been met,” Kendra Arnold, FACT’s executive director, said. “Both the fact that reportedly Bush’s husband isn’t licensed to provide security services for which he was paid and that she was simultaneously paying large amounts to another company for the same services raise red flags that warrant an investigation by the FEC.”
Fox News came to know about Merritts’s problems after it filed a public records request with the St. Louis Police Department over his license. A response came back clarifying that Bush’s heartthrob doesn’t have a current license.
The records search for Merritts’s license spanned St. Louis and its neighboring county. These are all the areas under Bush’s congressional district. In addition, Merritts was also missing in the Washing DC’s database for licensed security professionals.
A statement from the St. Louis Police Department website reads: “With the exception of St. Louis Police Officers, all persons performing a security function in the City of St. Louis must be licensed to do so through the Private Security Section.”
Bush has been under fire ever since she hired private security. It was termed ‘hypocritical’ that she paid over $300,000 from January to December 2022 for private security while clamoring for defunding the police. CBS News questioned the Democrat about her private security spending when Fox News released details of her spending in 2021.
“They would rather I die? You would rather I die?” said Bush, claiming that as a black woman she was a target. “You want to see me die? You know, because that could be the alternative.”
