(FamilyConservationPAC.com) – A statement released by the House Ethics Committee on Wednesday said that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is under investigation for violating the House Ethics rules.
The Office of Congressional Ethics sent an inquiry to the House Ethics Committee on June 23, 2022.
? AOC is officially under a House Ethics Investigation pic.twitter.com/bL1qyGsPYr
— Young Americans for Liberty (@YALiberty) December 7, 2022
In a statement from the Committee, Acting Chairwoman Susan Wild (D-PA) and Acting Ranking Member Michael Guest (R-MI) decided jointly to extend the matter about Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
They said, “The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, as well as the required disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not in and of itself show that a violation has happened or show the Committee’s opinion.”
The Committee said it would “announce its plan of action in this matter after the 118th Congress has held its organizational meeting and adopted Committee Rules.”
Although the Committee members weren’t clear about the investigation, reports suggest it was about her attendance at the Met Gala last year.
JUST IN: AOC facing House ethics investigation after ‘Tax the Rich’ Met Gala freebie https://t.co/hciBPp6QUl pic.twitter.com/WMOtvcnuIS
— New York Post (@nypost) December 7, 2022
According to reports, several groups that watch for ethical violations filed complaints against her.
These ethics groups said that Ocasio-Cortez got “an impermissible gift” when she didn’t pay to go to the Met Gala in 2021, even though tickets were said to cost between $35,000 and $50,000.
Members of Congress cannot accept gifts except at “widely attended events” or charity events.
In a complaint against AOC filed in September 2021 by the American Accountability Foundation, they wrote:
“Specifically, we believe Representative Ocasio-Cortez has violated clause 5 of Rule XXV of the Rules of the House of Representatives (commonly known as the Gift Rule) by accepting admission to the Met Gala, an event whose per seat costs is reported to range from $35,000 to $50,000, without having a permissible exemption to allow the acceptance of the lavish gift.”
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), an ethics watchdog group, also asked for an ethics review of Ocasio-Cortez’s attendance at the Met Gala.
At the time, Kendra Arnold, who was in charge of FACT, said:
“The gift rule for members of Congress is very clear and is in place for good reason. Members simply cannot accept anything of value that isn’t on the short list of permitted items.
This is a case where the member’s own words should trigger an investigation—not only did she state that she did not pay for an item, but she also implied that she was given the ticket because of her responsibilities in overseeing’ the gift-giver.
This entire situation is precisely what the House’s gift rule is designed to prevent. But the congresswoman’s office is “confident” that the investigation will be dropped by the Ethics Committee.”
Ocasio-Cortez spokeswoman, Lauren Hitt, told Business Insider that the congresswoman has always taken ethics very seriously and has turned down donations from lobbyists, corporations, and other special interests.
“We are sure that this case will be thrown out.”
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