House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) the leader of the Democrat Party in an interview this week after the 31-year-old lawmaker attended the elitist Met Gala event this week which sparked an ethics complaint against her over concerns about how or who paid for her to attend the event.
“I’m not quite sure as a member of Congress how you legally can go there,” McCarthy told Fox News. “You can’t accept a ticket so I’m not sure how that works.”
McCarthy said that she could have used campaign funds to pay for the event if the event was a fundraiser, which it wasn’t, so she would have to use personal funds.
“She’s the leader of the Democratic Party,” McCarthy said. “And think about it. She doesn’t call herself a Democrat. She calls herself a socialist Democrat.”
AOC stirred controversy when she attended the event when she wore a designer dress that said, “Tax The Rich,” to the event, which reportedly costs $30,000+ to attend.
AOC suggested that those who criticized her were hates, claiming, “New York elected officials are routinely invited to and attend the Met due to our responsibilities in overseeing and supporting the city’s cultural institutions for the public.”
“I was one of several in attendance in this evening,” she added.
Thomas Jones, the founder of the American Accountability Foundation, wrote to the Office of Congressional Ethics demanding that they open up an investigation into AOC over the incident.
“The American Accountability Foundation is writing today to request that you immediately open an investigation of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) for accepting an impermissible gift to attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala (the Met Gala),” the complaint said. “If during your investigation you discover any possible violations of campaign finance law, we urge you to share that information with the Federal Elections Commission.”
“Specifically, we believe Representative Ocasio-Cortez has violated clause 5 of Rule XXV of the Rules of the House of Representatives (commonly known as the Gift Rule) by accepting admission to the Met Gala, an event whose per-seat costs is reported to range from $35,000 to $50,000, without having a permissible exemption to allow the acceptance of the lavish gift,” the complaint continued. “If Representative Occasion-Cortez has used campaign funds to pay for this ticket, she has also violated FEC prohibitions on campaign funds being used for entertainment purposes.”
In a statement released late Tuesday, the Metropolitan Museum of Art claimed that it “comped” Ocasio-Cortez and her boyfriend, as well as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, according to the Daily Mail.
Jones said that the Met’s claim does little to dispel concerns over Ocasio-Cortez accepting the invitation.
“[W]hile the individual’s invitations may bear the name of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum has ceded control over the invitations to a for-profit company, specifically Condé Nast, and to its Chief Content Officer, Anna Wintour,” Jones said.
AOC faced widespread criticism from across the political spectrum over her stunt, including from people on the political left:
- Ej Dickson, senior writer at Rolling Stone, tweeted: “Am I the only one who thinks this is really f***ing stupid[?] 1) The dress is ugly, 2) She’s at a $35k per person event and this isn’t nearly the own she thinks it is. 3) The dress is ugly. I mean I love her but come on this is so dumb. Peak girl boss s**t.”
- Glenn Greenwald, a progressive blogger, tweeted: “Lots of people commenting snidely on the lack of masks and social distancing in this opulent indoor event in the middle of a pandemic but — as was true of Obama’s indoor bash — COVID wasn’t invited to the #MetGala and these are the sophisticated people who aren’t in danger.”