The House Ethics Committee has directed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to make around $3,000 in additional payments in relation to her attendance at the 2021 Met Gala and the iconic “Tax the Rich” dress she wore there, saying it would consider the matter of her Met Gala attendance closed after those payments.
Ocasio-Cortez had already made payments to account for the rental cost of the dress and accessories in 2022, but in a report released publicly on Friday, the Ethics Committee found the estimated rental cost to be “unrealistic” and below market value, amounting to an impermissible gift not in compliance with federal law and House rules — even though it said the violations were not “knowing and willful.”
Ocasio-Cortez is expected to pay the difference, which would bring an end to the years-long investigation into her Met Gala attendance.
While Ocasio-Cortez previously paid $990.76 for the cost of renting her Met Gala ensemble from designer Brother Vellies, the committee found that the designer’s accountant previously “vastly undervalued the apparel,” and found $3,724.04 to be closer to fair market value for the rental — saying it would be “appropriate” for her to repay an additional $2,733.28 to comply with the Gift Rule.
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Author: Marty Kaufmann
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