The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) has said that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) might have accepted impermissible gifts following her attendance at the Met Gala in 2021. At the time she had made the headlines for wearing a white dress with the phrase “Tax the Rich” written in red.
According to an OCE report from June 2022, as well as materials released by the House Ethics Committee on Thursday, disclosed that multiple vendors received a delayed payment for the hair, makeup, outfit, and other costs related to her appearance at the event.
Ocasio-Cortez in an interview with OCE said that “a ball that was dropped” and that it was “deeply regrettable” to have payments worth thousands of dollars delayed. She further added that she had told a campaign staffer repeatedly to handle the needed payments for the services.
According to the OCE board, Ocasio-Cortez appears to have only paid for the rental value of the clothing, goods, and services. The OCE unanimously voted to have the case referred to the House Ethics Committee in June 2022, stating that the Congresswoman had violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law.
In December, the House Ethics Committee noted that they were looking into Ocasio-Cortez but had not specified what the case was related to.
Ocasio-Cortez’s legal counsel in a letter to the Ethics Committee referred to the delays in payments that were identified by the OCE in relation to her attendance at the Met Gala.
