Two conservative watchdog groups have filed complaints with the Office of Congressional Ethics against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, who accepted numerous gifts and services in alleged violation of House rules, The Daily Caller reported.
The complaints stem from the Democrat socialist’s attendance at the Met Gala 2021, where she wore a white dress with the words, “Tax the Rich,” scrawled in red on the back.
Ocasio-Cortez accepted free $35,000 tickets for herself and her boyfriend, the designer gown on loan, limousine services, a room at the Carlyle Hotel (where a single night’s stay costs thousands), professional hair styling and makeup design, jewelry, and more.
Beyond the hypocrisy that comes with proclaiming “Tax the Rich” while likely spending more than $100,000 in a single night, the National Legal and Policy Center believes that Ocasio-Cortez may have broken House Ethics rules, according to the group’s press release.
“The House has very strict gift rules that AOC apparently ignored as she mingled with the Gala’s star-studded attendees, hypocritically ignoring the mask mandate required for the event,” said Paul Kamenar, counsel for NLPC who drafted and filed NLPC’s Complaint.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art defended Ocasio-Cortez’s attendance by stating that she and other elected officials were “guests of the Museum.”
Ocasio-Cortez said she “borrowed” the dress and needed to attend the Met Gala as part of a congresswoman’s “responsibilities in overseeing our city’s cultural institutions that serve the public.”
The American Accountability Foundation, which filed another House Ethics complaint, said Ocasio-Cortez did not have the right to accept free invitations to the event because Conde Nast, a for-profit company, sells the tickets.
Ocasio-Cortez sat at a sponsored table during the event, which also violates gift rules.
“In short, it is the table sponsor who is gifting or underwriting a coveted seat to AOC at the Gala,” the NLPC complaint states. “And if the sponsor of the table where AOC sat was one paid for by one of the corporations attending the event, such as Instagram or Facebook, AOC has received a prohibited gift from the corporation that also lobbies Congress.”
