WASHINGTON — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) falsely claimed spousal privileges to snag her then-boyfriend Riley Roberts a free ticket to the swanky 2021 Met Gala, according to the House Ethics Committee, which ordered her to repay the $250 perk on top of the $3,000 she received in gifts.
Roberts scored the freebie, worth $250, because he “is considered a ‘spouse,’” Ocasio-Cortez’s attorney claimed to the ethics panel in May as part of the more than three-year investigation into the congresswoman for improperly accepting nearly $3,000 in hair accessories, shoes and her infamous “Tax the Rich” dress.
She and Roberts got engaged in 2022 — a year after the haute affair, which costs $35,000 per person.
House rules prohibit lawmakers from accepting gifts, the panel’s July 25 report noted, with an exception for tickets to “charity” balls or “widely-attended” events for themselves, spouses or their children.
A preliminary probe by the Office of Congressional Ethics that preceded the House Ethics inquiry deemed the move “permissible” because the Bronx and Queens Democrat “opted to treat a long-term significant other as synonymous with a spouse” which was “[c]onsistent with prior decision.”
But House Ethics said in a unanimous decision that it was “not based on any law or precedent then in existence,” since the spousal privileges only apply to members who are legally married.
The 26-page report also found that at the same time AOC “was seeking to take advantage of exceptions to the Gift Rule only applicable to spouses and/or certain relatives, she was not disclosing Mr. Roberts’s financial interests as is required of Members who are legally married.”
Members are required to list their spouses’ assets and liabilities as part of financial disclosure forms filed annually in the House.
The far-left rep has co-sponsored a bill this Congress that would also ban stock trades for spouses, though Roberts would have a carveout given their relationship status if the legislation passes.
Additionally, Ocasio-Cortez had “listed Mr. Roberts as her ‘spouse’ on paperwork filed with the House relating to privately sponsored travel, although the two were not legally married at the time of the gifted travel,” the report added.
The ethics committee stated that the congresswoman’s lawyer “acknowledged” that “Roberts was not a ‘relative’ under the applicable regulations” but failed to foot the bill.
“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,” said Mike Casca, AOC’s chief of staff, following the report’s release.
In coordination with the committee, she agreed to donate Roberts’ $250 ticket price to the charity that puts on the gala and cough up another $2,733.28 for the fair-market value to rent her infamous “Tax the Rich” Brother Vellies couture dress designed by Aurora James as well as luxury shoes, jewelry, a floral hairpiece, and a handbag.
One of her campaign staffers stiffed the vendors — and pressured them to knock down the price of the dress from around $1,300 to $300 — eventually shelling out $990.76 for the attire after being bugged for months and threatened with a New York State Department of Labor referral.
The committee valued the glamorous getup at $3,724.04 in total, including the gown which has a retail price tag of more than $18,000.
“She accepts the ruling and will remedy the remaining amounts, as she’s done at each step in this process,” Casca said in his statement.
The couple has been together since 2016, but Roberts hasn’t yet tied the knot even after proposing three years ago.
She hasn’t been seen wearing the $3,057.04 ring he gave her since at least November 2023, according to The Washington Free Beacon, which first reported on the ethics lapses.
A spokeswoman for Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
