Who is Cortney Merritts? Cori Bush security funds scandal explained amid DOJ investigation

Democratic Representative Cori Bush is being investigated for allegedly spending campaign money on personal security services. The Missouri lawmaker is being criticized for hiring her spouse Cortney Merritts, as part of the security team. Cori said on Tuesday that she is fully cooperating with the Justice Department (DOJ) in the probe.

The 47-year-old, a member of ‘The Squad’ stated that she used the campaign funds to hire security because of threats. Cori claimed she was subjected to these threats even before joining the U.S. Congress office in January 2021. However, she denied any wrongdoing and said:

“As a rank-and-file member of Congress, I am not entitled to personal protection by the House. I have not used any federal tax dollars for personal security services. Any reporting that I have used federal funds for personal security is simply false.”

The Squad member said no wrongdoing was found in the investigation conducted by the Office of Congressional Ethics that lasted for months. Cori's campaign spending is currently being probed by the House Ethics Committee as well as the Federal Elections Commission.

---

Cori Bush alleges right-wing organizations are targeting her

In her statement Tuesday, Cori Bush said right-wing organizations have been targeting her recently and that they lodged absurd complaints against her. She shared that some of the complaints were focused on her husband, Cortney, and his role as security staff. Cori said:

“The nature of these particular allegations have been around my husband's role in the campaign. I retained my husband as part of my security team to provide security services because he has had extensive experience in this area.”

However, Cori’s husband does not have a license to provide private security in the district of St. Louis. The lawmaker called these complaints “frivolous” and said they resulted in these recent and ongoing probes. Cori further claimed that the Office of Congressional Ethics did not find Cortney Merritts to have been overpaid. She said:

“I look forward to the same outcome from all pending investigations.”

According to Public Records, Cori Bush paid Cortney Merritts $60,000 out of the $572,000 she expended on security in 2022.

Cori Bush’s security spending was first discussed publicly when the media inquired about her expenses of up to $700,000 while she openly called for police defunding during George Floyd’s death riots in 2020. She told CBS News in an interview in August 2021:

“I'm going to make sure I have security because I know I have had attempts on my life, and I have too much work to do. So, if I end up spending $200,000, if I spend…10 more dollars on it, you know what? I get to be here to do the work.”

Cori also said:

“We need to defund the police and put that money into social safety nets because we're trying to save lives.”

The Federal Election Commission, however, said using campaign funds for personal security is not against the rules for a Congress member due to the rapid spike in violent threats.