The Division of Justice’s prison probe into Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) over allegations of misuse of personal safety funds is just like a previous Federal Elections Fee investigation.
In line with Punchbowl Information, who first reported the story, the DOJ subpoenaed the Home Sergeant at Arms for information referring to Bush’s misspending of taxpayer funds allotted to Congressmen for private safety.
Monday afternoon, the Home clerk learn on the ground of the chamber a message from the workplace of the Sergeant at Arms formally notifying the Home chamber that the workplace had been served with a grand jury subpoena by the DOJ.
— Breitbart Information (@BreitbartNews) January 30, 2024
That discover didn’t identify the topic of the investigation, however Bush has come underneath scrutiny for her spending on non-public safety earlier than.
Bush beforehand was investigated by the Federal Elections Fee for misusing marketing campaign funds for personal safety.
Her marketing campaign employed her now-husband, Cortney Merritts, in January 2022 for personal safety providers regardless of his not holding the license required to conduct the job throughout the metropolis of St. Louis, which comprises the whole lot of Bush’s congressional district.
In January 2022 when he was employed by Bush’s marketing campaign, Merritts didn’t possess a personal safety license essential to carry a personal safety job in St. Louis, the place the whole lot of Bush’s congressional district is housed. He didn’t obtain his license till February 2023, the month the couple wed, after which she continued to pay him marketing campaign funds.
United States Representatives Rashida Tlaib Cori Bush maintain a banner demanding a ceasefire and condemning the Israeli assaults on Gaza, in entrance of U.S. Capitol in United States on November 8, 2023. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu through Getty Pictures)
Non-public safety funds from Bush’s marketing campaign to Merritts whole tens of 1000’s of {dollars}.
Bush has spent nicely over half 1,000,000 {dollars} out of her marketing campaign funds for personal safety. Nonetheless, these funds got here from Bush’s marketing campaign account, not taxpayer funds from her Congressional workplace.
In an uncommon change Monday evening, Bush reprimanded a Punchbowl reporter for asking her concerning the investigation as a result of she had a toothache.
Bush has acquired elevated scrutiny for the non-public safety funds as a consequence of her management of the “Defund the Police” motion. She has dismissed these criticisms in harsh phrases.
“So suck it up, and defunding the police has to occur,” Bush stated to her detractors.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), who has a historical past of supporting the Defund the Police motion, has reportedly paid an “anti-Semitic non secular guru” to supply her with “safety providers.” https://t.co/34ZtXdyera
— Breitbart Information (@BreitbartNews) March 9, 2023
Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spearheaded calls after January 6 to supply taxpayer-funded safety to Members of Congress. The Speaker additionally directed fencing and razor wire to be positioned across the Capitol in addition to extra legislation enforcement personnel which value taxpayers tens of millions.
The fencing and costly heightened safety presence remained for many of 2021 whereas the Speaker performed her probe into the occasions of January 6, regardless of heavy criticisms from Republicans that the safety was pointless and theatrical.
Bush was first elected to the Home in 2020 after a number of unsuccessful runs for workplace, defeating a 10-term incumbent Democrat.
Her marketing campaign held a reelection kickoff occasion Saturday in St. Louis, throughout which Bush known as herself an “underdog.”
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart Information. Observe him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.