To the contrary, the record clearly shows that the Congresswoman always understood that she had to pay for these expenses personally - and she even worked with the undersigned counsel prior to the event to ensure that she complied with all applicable ethics rules. Even after OCE’s exhaustive review of the Congresswoman’s personal communications, there is no evidence that she ever intended to avoid these expenses. The statement continued, “However, while regrettable, this matter definitively does not rise to the level of a violation of House Rules or of federal law. The Congresswoman finds these delays unacceptable, and she has taken several steps to ensure nothing of this nature will ever happen again.” Her attorney, David Mitrani of Sandler, Reiff, Lamb, Rosenstein & Birkenstock LLC, issued an email to the Committee on Ethics’ staff director and chief counsel Tom Rust that read, “Though no Ethics violation has been found, the Office of Congressional Ethics did identify that there were delays in paying vendors for costs associated with the Congresswoman’s attendance at the Met Gala. Media requests to Ocasio-Cortez’ office were not acknowledged. That practice has been in place for years and as of December, when the OCE’s investigation was announced, the museum planned to continue to do so, a spokesman said. Along with New York City Mayor Eric Adams and select other officials, Ocasio-Cortez was among the officials whose estimated $35,000 tickets were comped by the museum. Her gown was designed by Brother Vellies founder Aurora James, who posed on the red carpet with the Bronx-born legislator, who represents New York’s 14 th district. Ocasio-Cortez was among the public officials invited to attend the Condé Nast-sponsored Met Gala in the fall of 2021.
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