The Office of Congressional Ethics determined Thursday that there is "substantial reason to believe" Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., "accepted impermissible gifts associated with her attendance at the Met Gala in 2021."
The board vote was unanimous at 5-0.
According to the Office of Congressional Ethics document, if Ocasio-Cortez accepted impermissible gifts for the Met Gala from two years ago, "then she may have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law."
Consequently, the board recommended the investigative panel further review the primary allegation against Ocasio-Cortez — a U.S. congresswoman since January 2019 — since there exists "substantial reason to believe" she accepted improper or impermissible gifts associated with the 2021 Met Gala.
The board first acknowledged the official inquiry into Ocasio-Cortez's conduct in December.
In 2021, Ocasio-Cortez became the subject of an ethics complaint, stemming from the "Tax The Rich" dress she donned at that year's Met Gala.
As the Washington Examiner reported then, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) reiterated that "House Rule 25 places restrictions on the types of gifts that members of Congress can receive."
The agency then referred outgoing Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., to the House Committee on Ethics for review over the Met Gala incident.
The Office of Congressional Ethics is an independent and nonpartisan entity tasked with "reviewing allegations of misconduct against Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives, and referring matters to the House Committee on Ethics when the OCE Board determines such review is warranted.
"Members of the OCE's eight-person Board of Directors must authorize each stage of the OCE investigative process and ultimately decide whether to recommend that the House Committee on Ethics review a matter or dismiss it. Board members are private citizens, cannot work as lobbyists or be employed by the federal government and must agree not to run for federal office."
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