Cori Bush's husband received $17k last three months of year, new filings show amid DOJ probe

Rep. Cori Bush's husband received $17,500 for campaign security during the final quarter of last year, bringing the total amount of money he's received from the campaign up to more than $120,000 as the Missouri Democratic congresswoman faces a criminal investigation by the Justice Department for her campaign security spending.

The new Federal Election Commission filings, submitted Wednesday, show that Cortney Merritts, Bush's security guard she married in February 2023, received seven payments of $2,500 from Oct. 1, 2023, through the end of the year.

Merritts' total payments from the campaign last year reached at least $60,000, which is about one-third of her total campaign security spending reported in 2023, data shows. 

Merritts has received more than $122,000 marked as wage expenses, security services and reimbursements from Bush's campaign since 2022, per the FEC data.

Campaign committees can legally pay family members of politicians, so long as they receive fair market value for "bona fide" services. 

As Merritts received security payments, Bush's campaign continued paying other security firms, spending a total of $770,000 on security services, per Fox News Digital.

After the couple married last year, her office revealed they had been together since before she entered Congress. 

Bush said this week that she is "fully cooperating" with the Justice Department's probe.

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