Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Faces Investigation By House Ethics Committee

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is facing an investigation from the House Ethics Committee, according to a statement by the Committee Wednesday.

The panel will declare its planned course of action after its 2023 organizational meeting in the next Congress, per the statement.

The Committee’s statement said that Acting Chairwoman Susan Wild (D-PA) and Acting Ranking Member Michael Guest (R-MI) both “jointly decided to extend the matter regarding Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, which was transmitted to the Committee by the Office of Congressional Ethics on June 23, 2022.”

“The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” continued the statement.

The Committee stated it will “announce its course of action in this matter following its organizational meeting and adoption of Committee Rules in the 118th Congress.”

It was not made clear what the Committee’s reasoning is for investigating Ocasio-Cortez.

Breitbart News pointed out that numerous ethics watchdog organizations have looked deeper into the affairs of Ocasio-Cortex following her attendance at the Met Gala last year.
According to those ethics groups, Ocasio-Cortez received “an impermissible gift” to attend 2021’s Met Gala, which she did not buy a ticket for, despite attendance costs reportedly ranging from $35,000 to $50,000.

The American Accountability Foundation wrote a complaint against Ocasio-Cortez in September 2021, accusing the congresswoman of taking an illegal bribe:

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.

Fox News host Trace Gallagher discussed the newly announced investigation on a recent episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight:

Ocasio-Cortez’s office has denied any wrongdoing by the congresswoman.

“The Congresswoman has always taken ethics incredibly seriously, refusing any donations from lobbyists, corporations, or other special interests,” Ocasio-Cortez Spokeswoman Lauren Hitt told Business Insider. “We are confident that this matter will be dismissed.”

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR