The Washington Free Beacon conducted an in-depth analysis of the House Ethics Committee report that found Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) violated House Rules with her 2021 Met Gala attendance.
The publication found something interesting: AOC has listed her fiancé, Riley Roberts, as her spouse to receive gifts, but not where he has to disclose his financial affairs.
It turns out Roberts is listed as her spouse under federal campaign finance law. From The Washington Free Beacon:
The committee’s rebuke stemmed from a lengthy explanation Ocasio-Cortez’s attorney provided to justify why the New York lawmaker accepted a free ticket worth $35,000 for Roberts to attend the 2021 Met Gala alongside her. At the time, that was a gift Ocasio-Cortez could only accept for her legally-married spouse. But Ocasio-Cortez has never been legally married. She has lived with Roberts since 2016 and the pair became engaged in 2022, but there’s no evidence the couple has legally tied the knot, and Ocasio-Cortez hasn’t been pictured wearing her engagement ring in public since November 2023.Despite that, to Ocasio-Cortez, “Roberts is considered a ‘spouse’,” her attorney, David Mitrani, explained to the House Ethics Committee in his May 16 letter.Roberts is only considered her “spouse” in context of federal campaign finance law, Mitrani said, an interpretation that Ocasio-Cortez has used to grant her partner several privileges typically afforded only to legally-married spouses of lawmakers. That includes securing Roberts his free ride to the 2021 Met Gala and later, in 2023, gifted travel to Japan and South Korea, the Washington Free Beacon reported. Mitrani revealed in his letter that Roberts has also owned a congressional “spouse pin” ever since Ocasio-Cortez entered Congress in 2019, a bauble that grants him access to parts of the Capitol complex not accessible to the public.
AOC and Roberts weren’t even engaged in 2021!
AOC’s lawyer told the Ethics Committee the rule does not apply to Riley since “under the Committee’s … financial disclosure guidance, Mr. Roberts is not considered a spouse.”
Congressional spouses have to disclose sources of income and financial holdings.
AOC’s lawyer nailed the coffin shut when he admitted AOC and Riley haven’t “taken steps to bring the law or religion into their relationship.”
Again, AOC and Roberts have been engaged since 2021.
Well, it looks like someone needs to update the campaign finance law.
That’s totally not shady at all! (sarcasm)
Who else in Congress is abusing the word spouse?
Roberts is a mystery to everyone. The Washington Free Beacon even noted that AOC hasn’t been wearing her engagement ring.
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