Before Cori Bush's Democrat voters denied her a third term in Congress, the former Squad member and Black Lives Matter activist talked a big game about fighting corruption. It turns out her household may have been a good place to start.
The former Missouri congresswoman's husband, Cortney Merritts, was charged Thursday with two counts of wire fraud for allegedly filing bogus applications with the Small Business Administration in order to fill his pockets with cash intended for struggling businesses.
According to the federal indictment, from July 2020 to April 2021, Merritts allegedly "devised, intended to devise, and participated in a scheme and artifice to obtain money and property, in connection with [the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loans program] and [Paycheck Protection Program] funds, by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, with the intent to defraud and with the knowledge of the scheme's fraudulent nature."
Over this period, Merritts allegedly collected over tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds "for his own benefit and enjoyment."
The Department of Justice indicated that the alleged scheme started in earnest when Merritts received a $8,500 EIDL loan from the Small Business Administration on July 7, 2020, for a moving business he ran called Vetted Couriers. Bush's husband allegedly claimed in his application for the loan that he had six employees and made $32,000 in gross revenue between January 2019 and January 2020.
'We look forward to litigating this case in the courtroom.'
The next day, Merritts allegedly filed another application for an EIDL loan in the name of a sole proprietorship called "Cortney Merritts." This time, he claimed to have a business that employed 10 people and made $53,000 in gross revenue the previous year. Merritts apparently even asked for a $10,000 advance on the loan. This application was rejected because the SBA indicated it was virtually identical to Merritts' previous submission.
According to the indictment, Bush's husband — evidently undeterred by the SBA growing wise to his efforts — tried hitting the government up for more cash in April 2021, applying for a PPP loan in the name of his sole proprietorship.
The indictment alleged that in his application, Merritts falsely claimed that he created the business in 2020 and that it generated $128,000 in gross income that year. He ended up with with a $20,832 PPP loan, which was ultimately forgiven by the SBA because Bush's husband allegedly stated he spent the money on payroll costs for his supposed 10 employees.
An attorney for Bush's husband said he plans to plead not guilty, reported the Washington Post.
"We look forward to litigating this case in the courtroom," said attorney Justin Gelfand.
While Bush was not mentioned in the indictment, she has previously faced accusations of misusing federal and campaign funds — in some cases for Merritts' benefit.
The "defund the police" Democrat used her congressional campaign budget to blow $812,000 on suspicious private security services and paid over $150,000 to her husband, reported the Washington Free Beacon. Bush continued paying her husband $5,000 in campaign funds monthly for "security services" even after the DOJ launched an investigation into her expenditures.
A complaint filed against Bush alleged that despite receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from her for security services, Merritts had not bothered to acquire private security licenses in the St. Louis or Washington, D.C., regions. The complaint was ultimately dismissed by the Office of Congressional Ethics.
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One of the most vocal members of the group of Democrat congresswomen known as the Squad has once again publicly slammed Joe Biden for his handling of the war in Gaza initiated by an ambush on innocent Israelis on October 7.
On Saturday, Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represents a district in southeast Michigan, made what the New York Post described as "a surprise appearance" at the People’s Conference for Palestine. Held at Huntington Place in Detroit — a city that Tlaib described as "the most beautiful, blackest city in the country" — the conference allegedly included speakers affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which the U.S. and other foreign governments have designated a terrorist organization.
'It is disgraceful that the Biden administration and my colleagues in Congress continue to smear them for protesting to save lives ... . It is cowardly. But we’re not gonna forget in November, are we?'
In her remarks, clips of which can be heard here, Tlaib repeatedly called out the Biden administration for failed leadership. She claimed that America's continued support for Israel has left American schools underfunded.
"Every single bullet, every single gun, every single weapon, bombs that we send is the sacrifice of our own schools here at home," she railed. "Many of which when I go into the schools have garbage bags over their drinking fountains because they don't have clean water.
"President Biden, I hope you hear us loud and clear."
She also took aim at Biden for insisting last week that Israel's retaliatory aggression into Rafah, where many Palestinian refugees were reportedly taking shelter, did not amount to genocide. "The International Court of Justice just ruled that the Israeli government must stop its invasion of Rafah," she continued. "But President Biden says what's happening in [inaudible] is not a genocide.
"Where's your red line, President Biden?"
Tlaib even claimed that Biden's criticism of the International Criminal Court for indicting Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — as well as several leaders of Hamas — made Biden an "enabler" of genocide.
"Attacking the authority of the International Criminal Court and interfering in the legal process is nothing more than an attempt to prevent the genocidal maniac Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials from being held accountable for their crimes against humanity," she claimed.
"You are an enabler, President Biden."
Though Biden recently flirted with restricting weapons shipments to Israel, he ultimately reiterated that the U.S. and Israel remain firmly allied. "We'll always stand with Israel and its — in the threats against its security," he said.
Finally, Tlaib castigated Biden and other Democrats, whom she referred to as her "colleagues," for focusing on the violent protests that have sprung up on college campuses across the country in recent weeks rather than on the plight of Palestinians.
"They're more outraged [about] that than the atrocities happening right now on the ground and full of steam, the war crimes," she stated as the audience applauded and cheered.
She even claimed that Democrats may soon lose significant political power because of their continued support for Israel: "It is disgraceful that the Biden administration and my colleagues in Congress continue to smear them for protesting to save lives no matter faith or ethnicity. It is cowardly. But we’re not gonna forget in November, are we?"
Earlier this year, Tlaib encouraged Michigan Democrats to vote "uncommitted" in the state's primary. Whether she will ultimately back Biden during what promises to be a contentious battle for a second term remains to be seen.
The Biden-Harris campaign did not respond to the Post's request for comment.
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Democratic Socialists of America appear to have been so preoccupied with trying to make organizations across America unprofitable that it failed to keep an eye on its own bottom line.
DSA, backed by members of the so-called squad and touted as America's "largest and fastest growing socialist organization," is imploding on account of a seven-figure deficit, infighting, and the prospect of massive layoffs. To stay afloat, the radical group is considering defunding its various chapters and propaganda arms as well as axing senior staff.
Members of DSA's National Political Committee indicated in a recent proposal that "DSA is in a financial crisis and staff-related costs account for 58% of our total expenditures and 72% of our projected income. ... The current deficit will force us to make a 7-figure budget cuts. This will require us to make painful decisions that will impact all levels of the organization."
NPC committee members Alex Pellitteri, Kristin Schall, and Laura Wadlin suggested that one way to begin climbing out of the hole that socialists have dug for themselves would be for director-level and bargaining unit staff to volunteer to "have their position cut and receive severance."
When that fails, the socialist trio suggested they "will they explore initiating lay-offs."
The trio did not themselves volunteer to have their positions cut. Rather, they claimed elsewhere that the salaries for elected roles should be preserved, suggesting "[l]eadership stipends are not a luxury; they're an essential part of DSA's democratic character."
The NPC members indicated in a post on DSA's Bread and Roses Caucus' blog that they expect DSA to bring $5 million in income and $7 million in expenses in 2024. Their treasurer, John Lewis, apparently recommended maintaining a deficit of $821,000-$921,000 to buy DSA "another year to solve the problem."
Pulling that off would apparently require at least $1.1 million in cuts this budget cycle, which "could mean cutting dues share to chapters, slashing the YDSA budget, foregoing in-person events, slashing committee budgets, slashing NEC grants, slashing publications and literature — nearly everything that gives DSA meaning would be on the chopping block."
Other pinkos have offered alternative proposals for keeping DSA afloat. NPC member Sam Heft-Luthy, for instance, called for an expansion of DSA's hiring freeze.
The NPC members made sure to displace any possible accountability for their misfortune, instead blaming a "downturn in enthusiasm," alleged financial mismanagement by former DSA directors, and a dearth of "strong figures at the top of the organization to lead with a political vision that inspires people to become committed socialists."
The NPC members indicated further that the DSA dropped the ball on recruitment.
"We're living in a moment when revived labor struggles and the fight for a free Palestine are galvanizing so many Americans, particularly young people," they wrote. "Biden's disastrous policy of fueling Israel's genocide in Gaza has created the kind of space for an independent alternative from the Democratic Party that has not existed since Bernie."
Despite this apparent prime time for an ideology that produced over 100 million corpses in the 20th century, DSA "didn't adequately seize the moment," according to the committee.
The New York Post noted that some progressive Jewish leftists figure DSA leaders' support for anti-Israel groups and its rhetorical alliance with terrorists may have also hurt their cause.
"DSA long ago fell into the trap of becoming so radical in the name of 'justice' that they abandoned the mission of the progressive movement," said Amanda Berman, executive director of Zioness, a group of Jewish leftists who support Israel.
"After Hamas's brutal invasion of Israel on October 7, DSA doubled down on their strategy of going deep and long on antisemitism, thinking it might get them out of the hole," added Berman.
Hours after Hamas terrorists massacred thousands of unarmed Israelis as well as dozens over Americans, the New York City chapter of the DSA organized a rally in Times Square "[i]n solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to resist 75 years of occupation and apartheid. FREE PALESTINE!"
Unlike subsequent anti-Israel rallies, this DSA event took place before the bodies of dead Israeli civilians had been counted and prior to Israel's counter-offensive. DSA blamed Israel for the attacks, stressing in a thread still live on its X account, "Today's events are a direct result of Israel's apartheid regime—a regime that receives billions in funding from the United States. ... This was not unprovoked."
"True progressives, whether in the grassroots or in political leadership, will continue rejecting this extremist group and its hateful ideas in the name of true justice and equity, including for Jewish American," said Berman.
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