Despite being entangled in a criminal investigation, Rep. Cori Bush (D., Mo.) doesn’t seem to have reservations about dipping into campaign funds for family favors. The latest FEC filing shocker? Bush shelled out $15,000 to her husband, Cortney Merritts, in just the first quarter of 2024.
Merritts isn’t just any spouse—he’s at the heart of a DOJ probe into whether Bush has been overly generous with the campaign checkbook, especially since he’s been banking $5,000 a month for “security services” since January 2022.
This financial love story took a tabloid twist when it emerged that Bush and Merritts had secretly tied the knot in February 2023. Post-nuptials, those pesky payments suddenly got rebranded in the FEC filings as “wage expenses.”
But wait, there’s more! Bush’s campaign has lavished over $750,000 on private security since 2019, which also includes a baffling $152,000 to her buddy Nathaniel Davis III, a self-proclaimed mind-reading, tornado-summoning, anti-Semitic spiritual guru. Davis even claimed that the Rothschild banking family helped start the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bush stopped the financial flow to Davis right after his otherworldly claims made headlines. In case you need a refresh, it’s the one where he claimed that he is “109 trillion years old in this galaxy” and can teach how “to protect yourself from telepathic and telekinetic attacks.”
Bush, a staunch “defund the police” advocate, argues she’s only fortifying her personal security with campaign cash because of “relentless threats.” She insists that not a dime of federal money has been misused for these purposes. Convenient, right?
Meanwhile, as she gears up for a rough primary against St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell—who’s been taking her to task over her anti-Israel remarks, Bush might regret her extravagant security budget. She’s raised a mere $608,000 this year, trailing significantly behind Bell’s $954,000. With Bell sitting comfy with over $1.1 million cash on hand and leading by 22 points in the polls, it looks like Bush’s campaign might need a security detail from voter backlash.
