January 1, Ocasio-Cortez Under Investigation by House Ethics Committee

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is under investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Ethics.

The committee issued a brief statement on Wednesday confirming that it was investigating a complaint against Ocasio-Cortez, but it didn’t say why. The panel said that the New York Democrat was the subject of a complaint made on June 23.

While the reason behind the ethics investigation wasn’t made clear, the congresswoman was the subject of two complaints submitted to the Office of Congressional Ethics in 2021.

In September 2021, the watchdog group American Accountability Foundation filed a complaint against the self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist after she attended the lavish Met Gala. Ocasio-Cortez’s attendance was much-discussed at the time, wearing a designer dress emblazoned with the words “tax the rich” on the back.

Ocasio-Cortez defended her attendance at the swanky event in a Sept. 14 Instagram post, writing that “NYC elected officials are regularly invited to and attend the Met” and that she’d “borrowed” the expensive dress.

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A post shared by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@aoc)

“Claiming her attendance to the $35,000 a plate event was part of her ‘official duties,’ there are serious questions about whether or not her ticket — donated or purchased with campaign funds — was permissible under the code of congressional ethics,” the American Accountability Foundation said when it filed the complaint last September.

The National Legal and Policy Center filed the second ethics complaint, alleging that the borrowed gown constituted an impermissible gift as it was “directly related to AOC’s ‘position with the House’ as a highly visible and controversial Member.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s office issued a statement regarding the ethics probe, denying any untoward behavior.

“The Congresswoman has always taken ethics incredibly seriously, refusing any donations from lobbyists, corporations or other special interests. We are confident that this matter will be dismissed,” the statement read.

Sources: USA Today | Committee on Ethics | NBC4 | New York Post