REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Congressional investigators have extended their review into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), after the Office of Congressional Ethics concluded that Ocasio-Cortez’s 2021 Met Gala dress could have been an improper gift.
“Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may have accepted impermissible gifts associated with her attendance at the Met Gala in 2021,” the OCE board wrote in a Thursday afternoon ruling, which was unanimously approved in a 5-0 vote. “If Rep. Ocasio-Cortez accepted impermissible gifts, then she may have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law.”
As for what action comes next, the board recommended that the Ethics Committee “further review the above allegation.” But that doesn’t mean the Ethics Committee is formally opening an investigation, which would require a vote to empanel a subcommittee. Despite widespread reporting immediately characterizing the announcement as an ethics investigation, the Ethics Committee issued a statement that conspicuously didn’t mention forming a subcommittee to look into Ocasio-Cortez. Instead, leaders just said they would review the case.