Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York will have to pay up to settle an ethics complaint after she accepted free tickets and other gifts to attend the Met Gala.
Ocasio-Cortez was ridiculed by many for famously wearing a dress with the message “Tax the Rich” to the famous gala held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2021. She later was hit with an ethics complaint when it was discovered that she had run afoul of rules governing gifts to members of Congress.
‘I’m just saying, you wear ‘tax the rich’ on your ass, and people are always saying the rich don’t pay taxes.’
On Friday, the panel dropped a 31-page report about the gala accusations. They found that although she tried to follow rules about gifts, Ocasio-Cortez failed by “impermissibly accepting a gift of free admission to the 2021 Met Gala for her partner and by failing to pay full fair market value for some of the items worn to the event.”
She and her boyfriend were given tickets to the event worth about $35,000 as guests of Vogue, as well as customized clothing and hair and makeup styling. Ocasio-Cortez worked with an attorney to pay for the gifts, but the panel said the payments were delayed and fell short of the value of the gifts.
The congresswoman’s chief of staff said she accepted the ruling.
“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,” Mike Casca said. “She accepts the ruling and will remedy the remaining amounts, as she’s done at each step in this process.”
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Ocasio-Cortez was mocked widely for implying that the wealthy paid little in taxes.
“I’m all for ending income inequality, but let’s not lie. The rich pay a lot of the taxes,” Bill Maher said in a tirade at the time.
“I’m just saying, you wear ‘tax the rich’ on your ass, and people are always saying the rich don’t pay taxes. They pay some taxes!” Maher argued later in his screed. “They pay a big part of the freight already. I’m not saying it shouldn’t be more perhaps, but let’s not lie.”
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