Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) likely broke Congress’s “impermissible gifts” rule by accepting the rented dress she wore to the 2021 Met Gala. The designer of her “Tax the Rich” dress, Aurora James, may be subpoenaed in the ongoing review.
The House Ethics Committee released a statement Thursday saying that it is acting upon the recommendation of the Board of the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), a non-partisan, independent entity, in reviewing Ocasio-Cortez’s behavior. The decision was made by Ethics leadership in December.
“The Board recommends that the Committee further review the…allegation concerning Rep. Ocasio-Cortez because there is substantial reason to believe that she accepted impermissible gifts associated with her attendance at the Met Gala in 2021,” the OCE’s report read. The Board made the decision unanimously.
“Rep. Ocasio-Cortez received a series of goods and services which she did not pay for until the OCE opened this review,” read the report, citing her dress, makeup, hair styling, and transportation.
Ocasio-Cortez famously wore a white dress which featured the words “Tax the Rich” in red letters. The dress was designed by Aurora James.
James founded the fashion label Brother Vellies. She, the fashion label, and a publicist associated with the label named Janna Pea did not cooperate with the OCE review.
“The Board recommends that the Committee on Ethics issue subpoenas to Aurora James, Brother Vellies, and Janna Pea,” read the report.
As of 2021, James was reportedly in a relationship with Benjamin Bronfman, who has a net worth of a hundred million dollars. Bronfman’s father, Edgar, has accumulated a net worth of $2.6 billion.
The report revealed that a staffer paid a $477 hair styling bill two days after the OCE made contact.
Separately, a collections team attempted to secure payment for makeup services rendered, with the invoice noting the payment was extremely overdue. An Ocasio-Cortez staffer tried to pay two days after the OCE made contact, but the payment was rejected. The staffer finally made payment for the service a few weeks later.
In an interview with investigators, Ocasio-Cortez blamed a staffer for the oversight.
“And I just never, ever, ever would have allowed that to happen knowing what I have learned, but that I wasn’t privy to the invoices, wasn’t privy to the ones that had been sent,” she told investigators. “And it is just a deeply regrettable situation. I feel l terrible for especially the small businesses that were impacted.”
Ocasio-Cortez released a statement, claiming that “the Congresswoman finds these delays unacceptable, and she has taken several steps to ensure nothing of this nature will ever happen again.”
“However, while regrettable, this matter definitively does not rise to the level of a violation of House Rules or of federal law. Even after OCE’s exhaustive review of the Congresswoman’s personal communications, there is no evidence that she ever intended to avoid these expenses,” the statement continued, projecting confidence that the Ethics Committee will dismiss this matter.