Rep. Cori Bush Confirms DOJ Is Investigating Her Campaign for Misuse of Funds: 'I Believe in Transparency'

The Missouri Democrat acknowledged that she hired her now-husband to join her security team, but denied breaking any campaign spending rules or using federal tax dollars

Missouri Rep. Cori Bush confirmed on Tuesday that she is being investigated by the Justice Department for misuse of funds, saying in remarks made before reporters that while she has used campaign funds to pay for personal security, she has "not used any federal tax dollars" to do so.

Bush's statement comes after CNN reported that the DOJ subpoenaed House Sergeant at Arms William McFarland Monday for documents related to a corruption probe into the 47-year-old lawmaker.

Shortly after the report was published, Bush appeared on the Capitol steps, telling reporters: "I hold myself, my campaign and my position to the highest levels of integrity. I also believe in transparency which is why I can confirm that the Department of Justice is reviewing my campaign spending on security services. We are fully cooperating with this investigation."

Related: Rep. Cori Bush Shares She Had an Abortion After Being Raped as a Teen: 'The Right Decision for Me'

The St. Louis Democrat added that, since before her 2021 swearing-in, she has endured "relentless threats to my physical safety and life."

"As a rank-and-file member of Congress, I am not entitled to personal protection by the House and instead have used campaign funds, as permissible, to retain security services," she said. "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."

She continued: "In recent months, right-wing organizations have launched baseless complaints against me, peddling notions that I have misused campaign funds to pay for personal security services. That simply is not true."

Bush also acknowledged that she had retained her now-husband — a security specialist and Army veteran — as part of her security team, saying he "has had extensive experience in this area and is able to provide the necessary services at or below the fair market rate."

Related: U.S. Rep. Cori Bush Camps Outside Capitol to Protest End of Eviction Moratorium Amid Pandemic

Bush, a member of the progressive House "Squad" along with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others, became the first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress when she was elected in 2020.

A former nurse and minister, she rose to prominence during the street protests in Ferguson after police shot and killed Michael Brown. Bush lived just six minutes from where Brown was killed.

Last year, reports surfaced that Bush had gotten a deal to write a book called The Cori Chronicle and would receive an advance of up to $100,000 from Knopf Doubleday Publishing, according to a financial disclosure statement first reported by The St. Louis Post Dispatch. 

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.