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Cori Bush Claims She’s Still Fighting For ‘Justice For Michael Brown’ — Obama’s DOJ Said Otherwise

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Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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Democratic Missouri Rep. Cori Bush claimed Sunday that she was still fighting for justice for Michael Brown — despite several investigations that determined the correct conclusion had been reached in the case.

Bush joined CNN anchor Dana Bash on “State of the Union” to discuss how she was using her background as a political activist to fuel her work as a legislator since being elected in 2020.

WATCH:

Bash began with a clip of Bush that went viral earlier in the week. In the video, the Missouri Congresswoman explained why she needed private security even as she continued to call for cities like her hometown of St. Louis — which has faced a massive spike in violent crime in recent months. (RELATED: Cori Bush Says She Will Pay Private Security, But ‘Defunding The Police Has To Happen’)

“So, I know you’ve seen Republicans are pointing to the fact that you said you have your own security but almost in the same breath advocating for defunding the police. I do want to emphasize, I understand you have security protection because you have received multiple death threats,” Bash said, noting that Bush’s words were already being used in attack ads against both her and other Democrats.

“So could those comments end up being hurtful to your fellow Democrats politically speaking?” Bash asked.

“I think what we have to look at is the fact that I made it to Congress in 2020. I was elected to Congress. And we are still fighting this same fight. We’re still fighting to save black lives,” Bush replied, arguing that she had decided to run for office for that reason.

“It was because Michael Brown, who we’re fighting for, still trying to get justice for, it’s because he didn’t get justice,” Bush continued. “Because that was not fixed before I got here, to come at me and say you’re the reason we have these problems. No. The reason we have these problems is because those that were in power and could have fixed this problem before now didn’t and it cost lives.”

Bush went on to argue that it did not make sense to give police departments more money in cities like St. Louis — where the police force is already understaffed by some 200 officers — adding, “We’re adding more money to the police but we’re still dying. Something has to change.”

“Congresswoman I hear what you are saying but I also heard you say you think it’s a comms problem. Is it that?” Bash pressed.

“No. I’m saying that’s another way that you can tackle this. You have to tackle it from more than one place. We have to work on what we want to say. What is our message? But we also have to understand, we have to save lives, too,” Bush concluded.

According to the local investigation, Michael Brown was fatally shot when he assaulted Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson and attempted to take his firearm. (RELATED: DOJ Can Find ‘No Evidence’ To Disbelieve Darren Wilson, Will Not Charge Him)

An additional investigation undertaken by the Justice Department — under then-Attorney General Eric Holder and former President Barack Obama — determined that, while there were certainly issues the Ferguson Police Department needed to address, the city’s investigation into the matter had reached the correct conclusion in that case.