Written by Matthew Grayson.
The Justice Department has dropped a bombshell: Cortney Merritts, tied by marriage to former Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush, allegedly swindled $20,000 in pandemic relief funds meant for struggling businesses. It’s the kind of accusation that makes you pause—another layer of trouble for a family already under a microscope for murky financial moves.
The Case Against Cortney Merritts
Federal prosecutors laid it out plain and simple on Thursday. Merritts, a 46-year-old from St. Louis, now stares down two counts of wire fraud. They say he fed the Small Business Administration a pack of lies in 2020 and 2021—phony business details, inflated revenues, imaginary employees—all to snag loans he didn’t deserve. One application, slapped together in July 2020, got the boot when someone noticed it echoed an earlier try a little too closely.
His lawyer, Justin Gelfand from Margulis Gelfand DiRuzzo & Lambson, didn’t mince words: “Mr. Merritts will plead not guilty. This is just the government’s opening salvo—we’ll hash it out in D.C.’s federal court.” Fair enough. Indictments aren’t convictions, and Merritts gets his day to fight. But the stakes? They’re sky-high, with jail time looming if the feds prove their point.
Cori Bush’s Shadow Lingers
This isn’t Merritts’ first brush with headlines—or Bush’s, for that matter. A year back, the Justice Department started sniffing around her campaign books. Why? She’d shelled out over $150,000 to Merritts for “security” between 2022 and 2024, even though he didn’t hold the license St. Louis demands for such work. Meanwhile, her campaign cut checks totaling $225,281 to PEACE Security—a legit outfit—and $50,000 to some guy named Nathaniel Davis for the same gig. Odd, right?
Way back in March 2023, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust cried foul to the FEC. Their gripe: those payments to Merritts smelled like a sweetheart deal—maybe even a cash grab disguised as payroll. “If Bush overpaid her husband for no real work, that’s campaign funds in the wrong pocket,” they argued, pushing for a deep dive into whether she broke the rules. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s website backs up the licensing snag: no badge, no bodyguard gig—unless you’re a cop, which Merritts isn’t.
Bush, who got bounced from Congress after losing her 2024 primary (thanks in part to blowback over her Israel stance post-Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks), swears it’s all aboveboard. She’s claimed Merritts brought “extensive experience” to the table and his rates were a steal. But without that license, her defense feels flimsy—like a business owner insisting their unlicensed electrician is “just as good.” The “Squad” alum’s troubles keep piling up, and this indictment only stokes the fire.
Family Ties and Political Cash
Paying kin isn’t new in D.C. Take Maxine Waters, the California rep who’s funneled over $1.2 million to her daughter, Karen, since 2004. From 2021 to 2022, Karen raked in $192,300 running a “slate mailer” gig—think endorsement flyers peddled to other campaigns. It’s legal, sure, but rare on the federal stage. Waters stands alone among big-name pols using this trick to shuffle committee cash, and it’s raised eyebrows.
The rules say family hires are fine if the work’s real and the pay’s fair. Picture a restaurateur hiring their cousin as a chef—kosher, unless the cousin can’t cook and still gets a fat check. Trouble is, when politicians like Bush or Waters blur those lines, it’s taxpayers and donors footing the bill. Bush’s case stings extra hard: Merritts’ alleged loan scam dovetails with her campaign payouts, painting a messy picture of a couple playing fast and loose with public trust.
What’s the takeaway? Oversight matters. The FEC’s got to untangle whether Bush’s checks to Merritts were legit—or if they were a quiet favor to her husband. And now, with the feds circling him over relief funds, the heat’s on both of them. Two scandals, one household—coincidence or a pattern? You decide.
Our Take
Here’s where I land: Merritts’ indictment and Bush’s campaign saga expose a weak spot in how we police political money. If he did scam those pandemic loans—and that’s a big “if” until the gavel falls—it’s a gut punch to every small business that played by the rules during COVID. As for Bush, funneling cash to an unlicensed spouse while outsourcing the same job elsewhere doesn’t pass the smell test. It’s not about ideology (her “Squad” days are done anyway); it’s about accountability.
Public office demands rigor—something Bush and Merritts seem to have sidestepped. The Justice Department and FEC can’t just poke around and shrug; they need to dig, decide, and act. Me, I’ve covered enough governance beats to spot a red flag a mile off, and this duo’s waving a whole banner. Trust’s the currency here, and they’ve spent it recklessly. Time for the courts to settle the tab.
