(SNews) – Radical “Squad” Democrat Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) has been funneling thousands of dollars in shady campaign cash payments to her husband for a mystery role.
Bush, a former Black Lives Matter leader, funnels the money to her spouse, Cortney Merritts, in large payments marked as “wage expenses.”
The congresswoman has continued pumping campaign cash to her husband despite a previous backlash over the scheme.
As Slay News previously reported, Bush, a far-left anti-police Democrat, secretly married Merritts after it emerged that she had shoveled a staggering $627,088 of her campaign funds to him for “private security.”
The move ignited allegations of corruption after the payments were made just months after Bush had led efforts to slash police budgets across the country in 2020, a campaign that she is still pushing.
However, she has now altered the description of the payments amid scrutiny over previous payments.
According to new filings, Bush has sent over $100,000 to Merritts, who served as her head of security, for payments the congresswoman’s committee describes as “wage expenses.”
Merritts previously gathered money for security services, but the committee switched the characterization of the large payments in April as they continued to bring headaches for the campaign.
The “Squad” member has claimed that she requires additional protection due to previous attempts on her life after she demanded nationwide cuts to police budgets amid the Black Lives Matter riots of 2020.
She has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to security firms on top of the earlier payments to her husband.
According to her filings, her campaign began paying a new security firm in the third quarter.
The committee sent $5,000 to a St. Louis-based company called All American Protective Consultants, which was established in March, business records show.
The firm is registered under a company called 720 Firm, which launched late last year.
After Bush and Merritts secretly married in February, her office announced they had been together more than a year before her campaign began paying him in early 2022.
Her campaign regularly sent Merritts bimonthly $2,500 checks while disbursing hundreds of thousands to other protection firms, primarily PEACE Security.
Merritts, meanwhile, did not have a private security license as of late February, Fox News reported.
He also did not appear in a Washington, D.C., database of licensed security specialists.
The payments have subsequently triggered at least two FEC complaints from watchdog groups.
The campaign also paid anti-Semitic “spiritual guru” Nathaniel Davis, who has claimed he’s 109 trillion years old and can summon tornadoes, tens of thousands of dollars for “security services.”
Even before adding Merritts to her payroll, Bush faced criticism for using private security.
In July 2021, it emerged that Bush was paying out staggering sums of cash for security while still pushing to defund police.
The situation prompted CBS News to grill Bush about the cash and whether hiring a security detail while pushing to strip money from law enforcement was hypocritical.
“They would rather I die?” Bush asked.
“You would rather me die? Is that what you want to see?
“You want to see me die?
“You know, because that could be the alternative.”
The radical lawmaker said she would ensure she has security because she has had attempts on her life and has “too much work to do.”
“So suck it up, and defunding the police has to happen,” she added.
Local St. Louis’ KMOV4 later found that Bush had hired two sheriff’s deputies as part of her security detail.
The discovery of their unapproved side gig led to their termination.
slaynews.com/news/squad-democrat-cori-bush-funnels-thousands-campaign-cash-husband-shady-wage-expenses-payments/