(Headline USA) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., glibly admitted this week that she broke congressional financial disclosure rules, a cavalier attitude toward a basic requirement that stands contrary to her public statements about the importance of financial transparency.
Ocasio-Cortez was required to report her 2021 finances to the House Ethics Committee on Aug. 13, but she has not yet done so, according to the Washington Examiner. When asked about the delay, a spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez said she’s not in a rush to file the disclosure forms because she has another 20 days before she’s slapped with a fine.
“The committee provides a 30-day grace period before fines are levied. The congresswoman plans to file before the period expires,” Ocasio-Cortez communications director Lauren Hitt said.
Almost all members of the House have reported their 2021 financial disclosures as required by law to the House Ethics Committee. Ocasio-Cortez is one of 10 House members who have not yet filed the disclosures. Other notable lawmakers include Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, and outgoing Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Mich.
If she fails to file the disclosures in the next 20 days, Ocasio-Cortez could receive a fine of $200. In April, she slammed lawmakers who buy and trade stocks, saying there should be no “perception of impropriety.”
“We are also tackling a crisis of faith in our institutions in the United States, and that exploitation of that crisis of faith is a direct threat to our democracy,” she said at the time.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that we eliminate, again, that perception of impropriety because it is these perceptions that can be exploited to undermine our most sacred institutions,” she added.
This isn’t the first time Ocasio-Cortez has run amok of campaign finance laws. Earlier this year, the Federal Election Commission revealed her campaign violated campaign finance laws after two leftist political action committees associated with Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign “did not properly disclose the purpose of the disbursements” of their funds.
