Democrat Says Cori Bush Could Be ‘100 Percent’ Removed From Congress Like George Santos If She Is GUILTY Of Allegedly Misusing $750,000 In Campaign Funds For Personal Security

If Rep. Cori Bush is found guilty of misusing campaign funds by the Justice Department, she should be removed from Congress, her Democratic colleague, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, told DailyMail.com.

Bush, a team member and progressive Democrat, confirmed she was under investigation by DOJ but denied she misused funds for private security.

The Missouri lawmaker, who married one of her bodyguards, has spent more than $750,000 on security since her 2020 campaign account.

Bush’s confirmation that she is under federal criminal investigation shocked both Republicans and Democrats, who say if she is guilty, she could be expelled from Congress.

“If she broke the law and is charged and found guilty, then obviously 100 percent of her should be removed,” Moskowitz, D-Fla., told DailyMail.com.

“Just like what just happened to George Santos,” he added of the disgraced former Republican congressman.

In December, the House Ethics Committee found that former Rep. George Santos had stolen donor funds to spend on OnlyFans and Botox and filed false election reports. He was later voted out of office by his colleagues.

Santos was only the sixth member of the House to be expelled by vote in the history of Congress.

“They should throw the book at her,” Tennessee Republican Tim Burchett told DailyMail.com. “It’s a ridiculous amount of money.”

“She hired her husband, who was not qualified to be that kind of security guard,” he added. “Well, I guess we’ll have to decide that; are we going to allow this activity to take place?’

Rep. Anna Paulina, R-Fla., declined to speculate on what might happen to Bush as a result of the investigation, saying she will wait until the legal process is completed.

“It’s clear we’re held to a very high standard and we have to follow that,” she told DailyMail.com.

Another Democrat, Eric Swalwell of California, said he would also wait to see how the investigation would unfold.

“I just saw that there are reports of charges. I will make the justice system play for her as it did for former President Trump,” he told DailyMail.com.

Bush confirmed in a statement Tuesday afternoon that the DOJ is investigating her campaign spending.

“I can confirm that the Department of Justice is reviewing my campaign’s spending on security services. We are cooperating fully with this investigation,” she said.

Speaking to the Capitol presser, Bush also blamed “right-wing organizations” for spurring the investigation into her campaign’s spending.

“Since before I was sworn in, I have endured relentless threats to my physical safety and life,” she told reporters on the steps of the House of Representatives.

She added that as a “regular member of Congress” she is not entitled to personal protection.

Instead, she claims she used campaign funds to hire security forces, including her husband, who she says has “extensive” experience in this field.

“I have not used federal tax dollars for personal security services. Any report that I used federal funds for personal security is simply false,” she emphasized.

Bush, who has supported calls to defund the police and advocated reparations for African Americans, now faces a federal investigation into her staggering spending.

The Justice Department on Monday subpoenaed the House Sergeant at Arms for records related to the misuse of private security funds.

When confronted by the media Monday evening, Bush insisted she was not the subject of the investigation and scolded reporters for asking the question.

The investigation follows an ethics watchdog demanding an investigation into the $62,000 she paid her current husband Cortney Merritts from her campaign funds.

The nonpartisan Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) asked Lisa Stevenson, acting general counsel of the FEC, to investigate whether Squad member and BLM activist Bush “used campaign funds for personal use.”

It was revealed that Bush, D-Mo., married Cortney Merritts in a private ceremony in early 2023. In 2022, he was on the payroll of her re-election campaign.

Bush confirmed that the FEC and the Ethics Commission are also investigating the matter.

“These frivolous complaints have led to a number of investigations, some of which are still ongoing. The Federal Election Commission and the House Committee on Ethics are currently investigating the matter, as is the Department of Justice. We are cooperating fully with all these ongoing investigations,” Bush said.

“It appears that Rep.’s campaign Bush made payments for services that were unnecessary or in excess of fair market value because of her personal relationship with the beneficiary,” FACT Director Kendra Arnold said in the complaint.

“If so, these payments would qualify as impermissible payments to a family member or as an impermissible gift.

Although hiring relatives is frowned upon, it is not illegal. It would only be illegal if her current husband were forcibly paid above “fair market value.”

Payments to family members must be for ‘bona fide services’ related to their official duties.

“In accordance with all applicable regulations, I have hired my husband as part of my security team to provide security services because he has extensive experience in this field and is able to provide the necessary services at or below fair market rates,” Bush said. insisted.

“We therefore request that the FEC investigate whether Rep. Bush diverted campaign funds for personal use by paying a salary that was not intended for bona fide services at fair market value,” FACT wrote.

“If it is ultimately determined that one or more campaign laws have been violated, we urge the FEC to hold respondents accountable.”

Merritts was paid as Bush’s security guard despite not having a license, which is required by the St. Louis Police Department, according to a Fox News report. Merritts also reportedly did not have a security clearance in Washington, DC

Bush, 47, is back in the spotlight after being criticized in 2021 for spending $500,000 on private security, despite her impassioned pleas to “dismantle the police.”

“I’m going to make sure I have security because I know there have been attempts on my life and I have too much work to do,” the former Black Lives Matter activist told CBS News in August 2021. “So if I end up spending $200,000, if I… spend ten more dollars on it, you know what? I get to be here to do the work.”

“So, suck it up,” she added, “defunding the police needs to happen.” We need to defund the police and put that money into social safety nets because we are trying to save lives.”

Two St. Louis police officers were subsequently fired for targeting her security team without permission from their superiors.

Bush’s campaign paid Merritts 24 biweekly installments of $2,500 for security services in 2022. It paid another $250,000 to PEACE Security, a St. Louis-based company, and $50,000 to Nathaniel Davis, according to FEC records.

“Any time a member of Congress puts someone with a close personal relationship on the campaign payroll, more oversight is needed to ensure that the legal standard has been met, which in this case is that the payments were for ‘bona fide services in a fair market’. value,” Arnold said in a statement.

“Both the fact that Bush’s husband is reportedly not licensed to provide security services for which he was paid, and the fact that she was simultaneously paying large sums to another company for the same services, raise red flags that warrant an investigation by the FEC ‘, she says. added.

Bush isn’t the first “Squad” member to hire her husband. Rep. Ilhan Omar funneled $2.9 million into a consulting firm led by her husband in 2021, amounting to 80 percent of the company’s revenue.