Left-wing US politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez under investigation

Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is under investigation by an ethics panel.

The House Committee on Ethics announced the probe on the representative from New York on Wednesday.

Democrat Susan Wild, the committee’s acting chair, and ranking member Republican Michael Guest ‘jointly decided to extend the matter’ regarding Ocasio-Cortez, according to a memo. The Office of Congressional Ethics transmitted the matter to the committee on June 23.

‘The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,’ stated the panel.

The panel stated it will disclose its course of action sometime next year, after its organizational meeting with the next Congress. The swearing-in of the 118th Congress is in January.

Few other details were provided.

It comes after the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a non-partisan ethics watchdog, called for an investigation on Ocasio-Cortez attending the Met gala in New York last year.

‘In what appears contrary to the gift rule, on September 13, 2021, Rep Ocasio-Cortez attended the Met Gala, an event she described as “elite and inaccessible,”‘ stated FACT in September 2021.

‘The event is held to raise funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, and tickets are valued at approximately $35,000 each.

‘Ocasio-Cortez reportedly was gifted her ticket to the event and was seated “at the table of Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue and artistic director of Condé Nast, who is the longtime co-host of the gala.”’

At the time, Ocasio Cortez responded to the criticism saying that she was ‘one of several in attendance in this evening’.

‘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,’ she stated.

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