Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is facing criticism for allegedly bending House rules to secure benefits for her fiancé, Riley Roberts, that are intended only for legally married spouses, according to the Daily Mail.
The House Committee on Ethics released a damning report accusing AOC of listing Roberts as her “spouse” on official paperwork to gain access to perks such as the 2021 Met Gala and privately sponsored travel, despite the couple not being legally married.
The improper privileges afforded Roberts seemed to have begun early. In 2019, when AOC took office in Congress, and Roberts was issued a congressional spouse pin, granting him entry to restricted areas of the Capitol—a privilege normally reserved for legally married spouses, the UK’s Daily Mail reported.
“The Committee also found evidence that Representative Ocasio-Cortez 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 committee said in a report regarding a 2021 Met Gala appearance by both Ocasio-Cortez and Roberts
The ethics panel also discovered that although Roberts was listed as AOC’s spouse on the gala documents, he was not identified as such in her financial disclosures. Had he been, he would have been required to report his stock and other assets, as is standard for spouses of members of Congress.
“The Committee further notes that at the same time Representative Ocasio-Cortez 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,” said the Ethics panel report.
Additionally, the ethics panel ordered the congresswoman last month to repay thousands of dollars after determining she failed to pay fair market value for expenses related to her 2021 Met Gala appearance. The committee found that AOC underpaid for the striking red and white “Tax the Rich” dress, along with the jewelry and accessories she wore to the high-profile event hosted annually by Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
