Democratic members of the "Squad" in Congress continue to raise ethics concerns and red flags among watchdog groups, who have often urged government bodies to investigate their alleged misconduct.
The latest situation earning the ire of watchdogs is Rep. Cori Bush's (D-MO) newly announced marriage to a security guard for her campaign, despite her husband, Cortney Merritts, reportedly not holding a St. Louis private security license. Bush's marriage, which was quietly inked in January, is part of a string of alleged ethics issues for Squad members, which include the likes of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and five other Democrats, watchdogs say.
REP. CORI BUSH MARRIED SECURITY GUARD, 'THE LOVE OF HER LIFE,' CHIEF OF STAFF SAYS
"The Squad members have become left-wing celebrities, and it's given them a level of protection," Peter Flaherty, CEO of the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative watchdog, told the Washington Examiner. "There's a huge double standard."
Flaherty added: "The media goes easy on them. In the case of the Justice Department, even when it's headed by Republicans, they don't want to go after a Squad member because they're afraid of the reaction."
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO)
Bush's relationship with Merritts, who has earned over $62,000 from her campaign since January 2022, could pose an issue if he has not been paid fair-market value, according to Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, another watchdog group. Payments that are more than what the Federal Election Commission labels as fair-market must be labeled as for "personal use," the agency says.
In addition to Bush's marriage, watchdogs have expressed concern over her receiving gifts from constituents. The congresswoman has regularly been provided "dresses, jewelry, and shoes," according to a Harper's Bazaar report in September 2021.
Members of Congress may only accept gifts, including meals, valued at $50 or less, according to the House Ethics Committee, which notes that gifts totaling over $100 from a single donor are strictly prohibited.
"The congresswoman has received and been immensely grateful for an outpouring of support from her St. Louis community," Julia Albertson, a spokeswoman for Bush, told Fox News in September 2021. "Our office also works very closely with the House Committee on Ethics on all gift-related matters. She has never solicited or accepted any gifts that do not strictly comply with House ethics guidelines."
Still, Arnold told the Washington Examiner it is fair for the public to raise concerns over items that Bush received, given they "commonly cost more than the gift threshold."
"We do know that these gifts are happening, and those do lend themselves to more scrutiny," she said. "One of the basic and fundamental ethics rules that the public wants enforced is that members can't take gifts [above the threshold]. When there's been an admission that there are gifts, it does need transparency and further explanation as to those."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
Ocasio-Cortez is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee, per a December 2022 government press release.
While it's unclear what the committee is looking into, the congresswoman notably faced multiple ethics complaints in 2021 after appearing at the Met Gala. The National Legal and Policy Center, Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, and American Accountability Foundation filed complaints to the Office of Congressional Ethics — which refers alleged misconduct to the House Ethics Committee.
The groups pointed out that the congresswoman may have violated House rules by accepting free tickets to the gala for herself and her ex-boyfriend, Riley Roberts, and by borrowing jewelry, shoes, and a custom "tax the rich" gown that she wore.
"The full House should seriously consider sanctioning her, but the first thing she should do is repay the gift ... for so brazenly violating the housekeeping rules," Tom Jones, president of the American Accountability Foundation, told the Washington Examiner in December.
"This is basically a private dinner, where you can buttonhole AOC and go talk to her about whatever your pet issue is out of the sight of anyone else," he said. "You're not supposed to be able to do that. So that's problematic."
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
Omar has long come under fire for shelling out roughly $3 million combined to a consultant firm called E Street Group, which is co-owned by her husband, Tim Mynett. During the 2020 election cycle, Mynett was the largest vendor to receive funds from Omar's campaign — pulling in half of her total expenditures.
However, following scrutiny from Republicans, the congresswoman's payments to the firm decreased by roughly $2 million during the 2022 election cycle. Still, Omar's relationships with Mynett and others have raised initial concerns among watchdogs.
In June 2019, Judicial Watch alleged in a complaint to the Office of Congressional Ethics that Omar may have violated federal law by allegedly marrying her brother. Still, documents have not surfaced showing that her ex-husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, is her brother. That same year, the National Legal and Policy Center alleged in a complaint, which was rejected, that Omar could have broken House rules by noting on FEC filings that Mynett's firm received reimbursements and not him directly.
Also, the NLPC alleged in 2021 to the OCE that Omar failed to disclose a lucrative book deal inked in January 2019 on her annual financial disclosure reports in 2019 and 2020. The Daily Caller first reported on the discrepancy in August 2021.
“Even if Rep. Omar’s book deal was approved by the House Ethics Committee as her spokesman claims, at a minimum, she had to report the book deal as an asset on her disclosure forms and the receipt of any royalties,” Paul Kamenar, NLPC's counsel, said at the time.
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Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)
Tlaib's ethics issue dates back to 2020 when the House Ethics Committee ordered her to pay a $10,800 fine for illegally using campaign money for personal purposes.
The committee said in a 30-page report that the violation was "one of bad timing and not ill intent," referring to the congresswoman's reported $17,500 salary reimbursement with campaign funds during the 2018 elections, which the Washington Free Beacon first reported.