Ocasio-Cortez Hit With Major Fine Over Ethics Violation

A congressional watchdog has fined Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) $3,000 over ethics violations tied to her headline-grabbing appearance at the 2021 Met Gala, where she wore a designer gown emblazoned with the phrase “Tax the Rich.”

At the time, the former Bronx bartender drew widespread attention for attending the star-studded charity event, known for its celebrity guest list and steep ticket prices—reportedly up to $30,000, according to the Associated Press. Her white dress, designed by Brother Vellies, became one of the night’s most talked-about ensembles.

Now, the House Ethics Committee has concluded that Ocasio-Cortez violated the House “Gift” rule by failing to pay the full market value for the dress and for accepting a free ticket to the event for her fiancé, Riley Roberts. It remains unclear whether she paid for her own ticket.

The committee acknowledged that Ocasio-Cortez “proactively took steps” to address the issue but said she ultimately failed to fully rectify the matter. The report also raised concerns that Brother Vellies may have underpriced the dress after learning that AOC planned to promote the brand, and noted that payments to the designer were significantly delayed.

Some of the payments weren’t made until after the committee began its probe, however. Investigators stated that AOC’s staff was “overly reliant” on Brother Vellies to assess whether the dress complied with the House “gift” rule, noting the designer had a clear conflict of interest—standing to benefit financially from the Democrat publicly showcasing their work.

However, the report noted that the delays in paying Brother Vellies were not “intentional,” attributing the issue to a campaign staffer who failed to communicate about the payments in a timely manner. “I just never, ever, ever would have allowed that to happen, knowing what I have learned,” Ocasio-Cortez said at the time, Fox News reported. “But I wasn’t privy to the invoices, wasn’t privy to the ones that had been sent.”

Related Posts

A 5-Year-Old Survived a Horrific Dog Attack—Then Public Stares Started

A North Carolina boy who miraculously survived a near-fatal dog attack as a toddler now faces a different kind of pain in public settings. At just 21…

My 76-Year-Old Grandpa Sewed Quilts and Sold Them at a Flea Market So I Could Walk Again – Then a Gruff Biker Showed Up…

After a crash changed my life, Grandpa worked himself to exhaustion sewing quilts to pay for my therapy. I thought his sacrifice proved there was nothing he…

The Radical Transformation of a Grandmother Who Used to Hate Tattoos

For most of her life, 56-year-old Kerstin Tristan lived a conventional life far from the world of body art. In fact, the German grandmother famously held a…

The Famous Leg in The Graduate’s Iconic Poster Didn’t Belong to Who You Think

When Dustin Hoffman walked into the casting office for The Graduate, the producer didn’t even recognize him as an actor. What happened next set off a chain…

“Get her out before she embarrasses us,” my sister…

The champagne fountain sparkled under the crystal chandeliers as I stepped into the grand ballroom of Riverside Country Club, the kind of old-money American room built to…

An Entitled Woman Demanded My First-Class Seat for Her Boyfriend and Sneered, ‘People Like You Don’t Belong Up Here’ – Five Minutes Later, Karma Stepped In

My son’s gift was supposed to be the happiest flight of my life, until a stranger looked at my cardigan, laughed at my boarding pass, and told…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *