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Daily Mail
21 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
AOC hit with $3K bill for splashy 'Tax the Rich' dress at 2021 Met Gala appearance
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been asked by a congressional ethics panel to repay costs associated with her Met Gala appearance where she wore a white and red 'Tax the Rich' dress. The House Ethics Committee released a sprawling 26-page report into AOC's lavish trip and recommended she pay $3,000. Once she does the probe will be considered finished. The congresswoman's office did not respond to a request for comment. Longtime Vogue boss Anna Wintour invited the young Democrat and her then-fiancé as a guests to the Met Gala in 2021 and ordered a designer to 'dress AOC for the Met.' White with bright red lettering, AOC's 'Tax the Rich' dress certainly stirred reports at the time. That same dress, along with some some accessories from designer Brother Vellies, should've cost the progressive over $3,700 in rental fees, the report found. Her team only paid $990 for the dress, shoes, jewelry, handbag, floral headpiece, according to the committee. It claimed that the fair market rental price of the dress was just under $3,000, but AOC's team only paid $300. The tickets to attend the event that year costed $35,000 each. '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 report states. If Ocasio-Cortez declines to pay the bill requested, the committee could recommend a range of disciplinary actions from additional fines to a formal reprimand or censure. The 10-member ethics panel also concluded that AOC's 'conduct was inconsistent with House Rules, laws, and other standards of conduct.' Another point of tension over the visit was Ocasio-Cortez filing her then-fiancé as a spouse on House disclosures. The ethics panel won't seek any further action against AOC if she pays $2,733 for the fair market price of her rentals and dishes out $250 for her former partner's ticket. The progressive 'Squad' leader was previously ordered to pay back costs for her dress rental and other accessories in 2022. Staffing issues were called out by the committee investigators. They found that Ocasio-Cortez's staff was 'overly reliant on the vendors themselves to ensure the congresswoman's compliance with the Gift Rule.' At least one of the staffers that were involved with the misfilings have left the Democrat's office. The lawmakers reported that AOC's staff and counsel did attempt to 'keep costs down' and that the designers agreed. 'Committee did find evidence suggesting that the designer may have lowered costs in response to statements from Representative Ocasio-Cortez's staff, and that payments to vendors were significantly delayed and, in several cases, did not occur until after OCC (Ethics) initiated its investigation.'
The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
House ethics panel tells AOC to make more payments over her Met Gala ‘Tax the Rich' outfit
The House Ethics Committee has told Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, to make more payments over her Met Gala 'Tax the Rich' outfit. While the Met Gala is always an eye-catching affair, in September 2021, Ocasio-Cortez stunned onlookers with a Brother Vellies custom white mermaid gown that had the words 'Tax the Rich' written in red on the back. At the time, the congresswoman explained on Instagram she wanted to bring attention to the idea of raising taxes for the wealthiest Americans by doing so 'in front of the very people who lobby against it,' per the Daily News. The event cost $35,000 per person at that time, The New York Times reported. For years, the ethics panel has been investigating Ocasio-Cortez's attendance at the 2021 Met Gala, and now it says she must make additional payments worth nearly $3,000 in relation to the event. The panel released a report Friday stating the estimated rental cost the congresswoman had paid for the dress and some of her accessories in 2022 was below fair market value. 'The Committee found that she failed to fully comply with the Gift Rule by impermissibly accepting a gift of free admission to the 2021 Met Gala for her partner [Riley Roberts] and by failing to pay full fair market value for some of the items worn to the event,' the report read. But the panel did not find evidence Ocasio-Cortez 'intentionally underpaid for any goods or services' related to the gala. 'In many instances, the congresswoman relied on the advice of counsel in determining appropriate payment amounts, and most discussions about payment were handled through a campaign staffer,' the report read. Ocasio-Cortez previously paid just shy of $1,000 for her Met Gala outfit, but the panel found its fair market value to be worth more than $3,700. The panel said the congresswoman did make 'significant steps' to comply with House gift rules and advised her to pay an additional $2,733.28 to settle the matter. The congresswoman was also advised to donate $250 to the Met's Costume Institute for the cost of Roberts' meal at the 2021 gala. Mike Casca, Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, said in a statement obtained by The Hill, '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,' Casca added.
Telegraph
24 minutes ago
- Telegraph
AOC broke ethics rules with ‘tax the rich' Met Gala gown
It found she had failed 'to fully comply with the gift rule 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 was ordered to pay back the rest, with the report stating: 'Based on the above, the committee finds that it would be appropriate for representative Ocasio-Cortez to remit payment of an additional $2,733.28 for the goods that she received in connection with her attendance at the 2021 Met Gala to comply with the gift rule.' The full market rent for the outfit, a Brother Vellies couture dress designed by Aurora James, shoes, a floral hairpiece and a handbag, was $3,724.04. However, the committee found no evidence she had 'intentionally underpaid' for any of the services, but it said vendors did drop prices after the congresswoman's staff said payments would be delayed. It also criticised Ms Ocasio-Cortez for relying on vendors, who hoped to gain publicity from her appearance in their outfits, to ensure she kept within the rules. She was invited to the Gala by Anna Wintour, the British-born head of Vogue, who commissioned the designers to 'dress AOC'. Problems over hairdressing bill The couple also received free admission to the $35,000-a-ticket event, with the congresswoman taking care to ensure that the invitation was permissible. 'Representative Ocasio-Cortez's counsel thus correctly understood that she could accept the offer of free admission to the event, along with food and beverage, because the invitation was extended by the Met as the charitable sponsor of the event,' the report said. 'Her staff explicitly told vendors prior to the Met Gala that the Congresswoman would be paying for many of the benefits provided personally,' it added. Problems also arose over the $477.73 hairdressing bill, with the congresswoman's staff not responding to requests for payment. The bill was finally paid in full by Ms Ocasio-Cortez on Feb 23 2022. Committee members concluded she failed to 'exercise proper oversight' over her staff. While she failed to comply with the rules, the committee did not find that the violations were 'knowing and wilful'. With Ms Ocasio-Cortez paying the outstanding amount, the committee considered the matter 'closed'. The Telegraph has approached Ms Ocasio-Cortez for comment.
