Donald Trump Jr. raised a similar issue, writing, “What makes @AOC a bigger fraud: the ‘tax the rich’ dress while she’s hanging out with a bunch of wealthy leftwing elites or the lack of masks after spending the past 18 months as one of the biggest authoritarian mask Karens in the country?”
It’s worth noting that by late 2021, many Americans had been vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus; Ocasio-Cortez, like many of her colleagues, was vaccinated even earlier, in December 2020. But those vocal opponents’ concerns were enough to spur an investigation from the committee, which issued its 31-page decision on Friday.
According to House ethics rules, members of Congress are prohibited from accepting “a gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance or other item having monetary value.” Following an investigation, the panel determined that Ocasio-Cortez violated those restrictions, saying that the $990.76 rental fee she paid was less than the value of the gown and accessories.
“It would be appropriate” for Ocasio-Cortez to pay an additional $2,733.28 to James, the committee wrote. She should also donate $250 to the Costume Institute to cover the dinner served to Riley Roberts, the congresswoman’s fiancé and date to the event, it ruled.
“While the committee did not find that Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s violations were knowing and willful, she nonetheless received impermissible gifts and must bear responsibility for the other conduct that occurred with respect to the delays in payment,” the committee wrote in its report.
Her initial payment “failed to account for the true cost of such unique goods, particularly considering that they were custom-made for the congresswoman and likely had no further use after the event,” it wrote.
Via statement, Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff Mike Casca says that “The Congresswoman appreciates the Committee finding that she made efforts to ensure her compliance with House Rules and sought to act consistently with her ethical requirements as a Member of the House. She accepts the ruling and will remedy the remaining amounts, as she’s done at each step in this process.”
