e House Ethics Committee is extending its review on whether Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accepted impermissible gifts associated with her appearance at the 2021 Met Gala.
The bipartisan committee said Thursday members decided in December 2022 to extend their review into the allegation after they received a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics.
An 18-page report prepared by the office made public Thursday and reviews by NBC News shows the New York lawmaker may have violated House rules, standards of conduct and federal law and concluded there was "substantial reason to believe" Ocasio-Cortez accepted impermissible gifts.
House lawmakers are prohibited from accepting gifts such as "a gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance or other item having monetary value," the news outlet also reports.
During the September 2021 gala, Ocasio-Cortez was given "a couture dress, handbag, shoes, and jewelry," the ethics report states. "She also received hair, makeup, transportation and ready-room services."
The dress was a floor-length gown designed by Aurora James with "Tax the Rich" emblazoned in red on the back.
Her partner, Riley Roberts, received a bow tie and shoes for the event, NBC also reports.
The ethics report states Ocasio-Cortez "appears to have now paid for the rental value of the attire she wore to the Met Gala and for the goods and services she and her partner received in connection with this September 2021 event." However, it said, the payment wasn't made until after the ethics office contacted her for its review."
In related news of Democrat Heroism, a Democrat mayor in Maryland has been arrested on 56 counts of possession of ch*ld pornography.
He recently visited the White House. I'm sure this due to flaws and failures in the "Trump-era White House visitor vetting system" or something.
A Maryland mayor who recently visited the White House for a President Biden bill signing was busted Thursday on dozens of child porn counts, officials said.
Patrick Wojahn, mayor of College Park since 2015, abruptly resigned from his post just hours before he was taken into custody on charges that he possessed and passed around suspected child pornography on social media, police said.
The images and videos were allegedly uploaded in January, with the Prince George's County Police Department determining the social media account belonged to the 47-year-old Democrat, cops said.
Roughly more than two months before his arrest, Wojahn and his husband were at the White House to celebrate Biden's signing of the Respect for Marriage Act on the South Lawn, WTOP reported at the time.
...
Wojahn, a Democrat who served on the city council since 2007, resigned effective immediately Wednesday night after business hours, College Park city officials said in a press release.
When he won his mayoral election in 2015, he was the first openly gay man to earn the seat, NBC Washington reported then.
...
"While this investigation does not involve any official city business of any kind, it is in the best interests of our community that I step aside and serve as a distraction," he wrote.
Wojahn, in the letter, did not address the allegations against him that include 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material.
"Many of you have already reached out with well wishes and thoughts, and I am eternally grateful," Wojahn wrote. "I am stepping away to deal with my own mental health. I ask that you continue to keep me and my family in your prayer."
The city, in announcing Wojahn's resignation, thanked him for his years of "dedicated service."
In another statement from the city following the arrest, officials said they were "shocked and disturbed" by the allegations.
I should just say, allegations are not proof, and we should not jump to conclusions. People have been set up before.
Nevermind he's Guilty AF.
I don't know how you conspiracy theorists and Q-Anon Cultists keep getting the idea that the Democrat Party is the Party of Groomers. It's not, and you are officially warned that if you don't stop saying that, Slack and PNC Bank will de-customerize you.