AOC hit with $3K bill for splashy 'Tax the Rich' dress at 2021 Met Gala appearance
The House Ethics Committee released a sprawling 26-page report into AOC's lavish trip and recommended she pay $3,000. Once she does the probe will be considered finished.
The congresswoman's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Longtime Vogue boss Anna Wintour invited the young Democrat and her then-fiancé as a guests to the Met Gala in 2021 and ordered a designer to 'dress AOC for the Met.'
White with bright red lettering, AOC's 'Tax the Rich' dress certainly stirred reports at the time.
That same dress, along with some some accessories from designer Brother Vellies, should've cost the progressive over $3,700 in rental fees, the report found.
Her team only paid $990 for the dress, shoes, jewelry, handbag, floral headpiece, according to the committee.
It claimed that the fair market rental price of the dress was just under $3,000, but AOC's team only paid $300. The tickets to attend the event that year costed $35,000 each.
'While the Committee did not find that Representative Ocasio-Cortez's violations were knowing and willful, she nonetheless received impermissible gifts and must bear responsibility for the other conduct that occurred with respect to the delays in payment,' the report states.
If Ocasio-Cortez declines to pay the bill requested, the committee could recommend a range of disciplinary actions from additional fines to a formal reprimand or censure.
The 10-member ethics panel also concluded that AOC's 'conduct was inconsistent with House Rules, laws, and other standards of conduct.'
Another point of tension over the visit was Ocasio-Cortez filing her then-fiancé as a spouse on House disclosures.
The ethics panel won't seek any further action against AOC if she pays $2,733 for the fair market price of her rentals and dishes out $250 for her former partner's ticket.
The progressive 'Squad' leader was previously ordered to pay back costs for her dress rental and other accessories in 2022.
Staffing issues were called out by the committee investigators.
They found that Ocasio-Cortez's staff was 'overly reliant on the vendors themselves to ensure the congresswoman's compliance with the Gift Rule.'
At least one of the staffers that were involved with the misfilings have left the Democrat's office.
The lawmakers reported that AOC's staff and counsel did attempt to 'keep costs down' and that the designers agreed.
'Committee did find evidence suggesting that the designer may have lowered costs in response to statements from Representative Ocasio-Cortez's staff, and that payments to vendors were significantly delayed and, in several cases, did not occur until after OCC (Ethics) initiated its investigation.'
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Contributing: Nick Penzenstadler and Holly Baltz of The Palm Beach Post
