A far-left Democrat paid enormous sums for private security.
Her campaign has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A top Democrat who’s trying to defund the police married her security guard.
Far-left Democratic Missouri Rep. Cori Bush said that she would not back down from using the “defund the police” slogan even after other Democrats were trying to distance themselves from the unpopular movement.
Now Bush reportedly married a private security guard, Cortney Merritts, in a private ceremony last weekend after signing a marriage license with him a few days prior.
“Merritts, a veteran of the U.S. Army, has worked for Bush’s campaign as a hired security guard. Campaign finance records show the Bush campaign has paid him $62,359 in direct payments in 2022. Most of the payments were listed for security services, while $2,359 of them were for cash reimbursements.” NBC affiliate KSDK reported.
The payments to Merritts allegedly started after the two entered a relationship with each other, the report said. This could possibly cause problems for Bush due to House rules.
“Campaign funds are not to be used to enhance a Member’s lifestyle, or to pay a Member’s personal obligations,” House rules state. “Members have wide discretion in determining what constitutes a bona fide campaign or political purpose to which campaign funds and resources may be devoted, but Members have no discretion whatsoever to convert campaign funds to personal use.”
A spokesperson for Bush released a statement on Monday confirming the marriage, saying that Merritts was “the love of [Bush’s] life.”
“Mr. Merritts, a veteran of the U.S. Army and a security professional, has been Congresswoman Bush’s partner since before her Congressional tenure and is not employed by her Congressional office,” the statement added. “Our team has come to know and appreciate Mr. Merritts as a loving and caring Congressional spouse.”
Despite her own private security Bush has publicly defended the “defund the police” movement. During an interview with ABC News last year she doubled down on her position when she was asked if her rhetoric could hurt vulnerable Democrats in competitive districts.
“The thing about ‘defund the police’ is we have to tell the entire narrative,” Bush responded. “People hear ‘defund the police,’ but you know what they’ll say, say ‘reallocate,’ say ‘divest,’ say ‘move,’ but it’s still the same thing.”
“We can’t get caught up on the words,” Bush continued. “People spend more time focusing on the word ‘defund’ than they spend on caring and addressing the problem of police violence in this country.”
Bush doesn’t seem to understand that most people in America can’t have their campaign pay $62,359 in security costs. The police are taxpayer-funded security to protect average citizens from crime but Bush is happy to defund them since she already has security.
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