(The Center Square) – A social media post by U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., allegedly violated federal law and House ethics rules, according to a complaint filed by a conservative watchdog group.
On July 28, Bush used a personal account on X, formerly known as Twitter, to retweet a C-SPAN video of her interrupting House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., when he was speaking on the floor the previous day.
“Your bills are racist,” Bush can be heard saying through Scalise’s microphone.
Bush commented on the video, “I didn’t get to finish. Their bills are also sexist, patriarchal, xenophobic, classist, homophobic and transphobic.”
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust filed a five-page complaint with Omar Ashmawy, the chief counsel with the House’s Office of Congressional Ethics. The organization requested an investigation to determine whether Bush abused official resources for political purposes.
“Rep. Bush disrupted official House proceedings with outrageous and unprofessional behavior and then campaigned and fundraised off of it,” the request states. “Moreover, to do so she used official House government resources, namely video footage of official House floor proceedings…”
The letter cites a federal law that “appropriations shall be applied only to the objects for which the appropriations were made except as otherwise provided by law.” It references the House Ethics Manual in defining an “official resource” as anything funded by taxpayers, including government buildings and House offices, a member’s official website and social media accounts and photographs and video from the House floor or committee proceedings.
“The legal violation in this case is obvious and there are no facts that can excuse it – Bush used official House proceedings and resources for political purposes,” the request stated. “Video of official house floor proceedings is an official resource, and both using it for political purposes and posting it on a campaign social media account are violations of the ethics rules.”
The request also states representatives are prohibited from using any photograph or video of official proceedings posted by third-party sources, such as a news organization or another website.
“Rep. Bush’s abuse of official resources for political purposes shows a flagrant disregard for the law,” Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust Executive Director Kendra Arnold said in a statement. “These laws and ethics rules are in place to maintain the integrity of official proceedings, so members cannot leverage them for political advantage. The violation we have documented in our complaint is clear and obvious, and after confirming through investigation, we hope the OCE moves swiftly to impose the proper penalty.”
A phone message to Bush’s office in Washington, D.C., wasn’t immediately returned.
