Courtesy of one The ongoing investigation into the ethics of Congress In Bronx Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, we now know the trick to socialism: Don’t pay for things. When the AOC marched up the steps of the Met Museum 18 months ago in his famous costume, the slogan painted red on the back should have read “Tough on Culture” instead of “Tax the Rich.”
AOC as a matter of fact September 2021 wanted to attend the Met Ball — a charity event for its Costume Institute, yes, but also the world’s No. 1 social event for the rich, famous and beautiful.
But $35,000 tickets for two people (she wanted her boyfriend to go too) would cost nearly six figures (If The exclusive ball also allows you to). Member of Congress can do Attend nonprofit events, but the Met does not typically invite all of Congress, and is not a district of the AOC.
So AOC came through the biggest part of her Met Gala grift the old-fashioned way: trading on the elected position that the voters of the Bronx and Queens had bestowed upon her.
AOC snagged two free tickets (after much encouragement from her campaign staff) to Vogue’s Anna Wintour, who runs the show for the Met. AOC’s written invitation specifically informed her that she and her boyfriend were “guests. Vogue”
Small problem: Members of Congress can’t take nearly seven-figure gifts from companies that hire lobbyists. Vogue is part of a sprawling media conglomerate, including the firm that owns a large portion of Spectrum, our highly regulated Internet provider.
As AOC’s anti-corruption advocate warned His staff said, “The invitation from the Congresswoman can be accepted [the Met]but No [italics his] From Vogue. . Since Advance Publications is a registered lobbyist, we will need to be extra careful!”
Be extra careful. . . After the morning. as one Vogue Stauffer informed the AOC office the day after the ball, “Hopefully [C]ongresswoman had a great time last night! … [W]E. . . Mainly from page six. . . . Seeing that she was his guest [V]ogue, we were planning to say. . . She was Anna’s guest [Wintour]of . . Wanted to check with you.”
Hours of overpaid butt-covering. As the bipartisan Office of Congressional Ethics found last week, the “documents” — emails to “thread” the “needle” between the Met and the AOC’s office, in the phrase of one Met staffer — “suggest that Vogue’s role An attempt was made to obfuscate.”
Come on: the AOC solicited and bought a nearly six-figure gift from a regulated corporate entity, and then colluded with the corporation and the museum to lie about it.
Getting to the ball, however, was only a part of the AOC’s goal, due to repeated false statements. Being a Kardashian-level celebrity costs money: transportation, dresses, hair, makeup, hotel rooms, manicures, shoes, handbags, jewelry, boyfriend accessories.
As AOC’s lawyer assured congressional ethics officials shortly after the gala, “Congresswomen are responsible for their own dresses, handbags, and accessories, … shoes …, hair and makeup, transportation, and … hotels. is personally paying for all other benefits including the cost of room rent. for staging.”
Oh no! what do i do just… don’t do Pay for these things, and hope no one notices.
how The fashion industry is notoriously exploitative. Struggling designers need exposure, and work cheap to get it.
So AOC found himself building a haute couture dress – a day of consultation, design, fittings, materials, and styling, possibly upwards of a ten-thousand-dollar price tag – from a Brooklyn designer for $1,300. acquired for cost.
Good deal! But he did Pay $1,300? no Her campaign staff called on the designer to drop the price by $300. What is the value of AOC? week Worth the effort.
Ethics investigators found that AOC staff “could not explain why gown rental expenses were reduced.” (The designer refused to cooperate with the investigation, and will now be arraigned.)
shoes? No good socialist pays $635 to “buy” bright-red ribbon pumps, only to wear once.
AOC that Part of the bill also fell off, after the incident, changing the “purchase” to the bogus “rental.” (The resale value of used shoes is zero by default.)
And, gross: An AOC employee texted the dress designer, writing, “Just confirming that you’re thinking of providing [AOC’s boyfriend] With a tie/waistband? No ban on Riley btw.
Stauffer later confirmed to investigators that by “restrictions,” she was referring to congressional ethics rules. Translation: Give us more free stuff – especially stuff we don’t have to report.
Even with these hefty discounts, AOC tried to avoid paying this vendor, and many other hard-working New York City small-business people. “It appears that many thousands of dollars in service payments may remain absent [Office of Congressional Ethics] Starting this review,” investigators have found (so far).
Makeup: $344.85. AOC did not pay it six months, after the ethics investigation began. The makeup artist sent the bill to a collection agency, which said it was “highly overdue.”
Hair: $477.73. After several months of nonpayment—until an ethics investigation began—the hairstylist’s representative emailed AOC staff saying, “It would be awful if we had to file a complaint with the NY Department of Labor against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Will have to.”
Transportation from the Bronx to the Carlyle Hotel? $586.84 (Including leisure time – good for the planet!) It wasn’t until May 2022 – eight months after the gala – that AOC paid Condé Nast his $180 a share. Why they split the bill four ways is unclear – there were three other people in the car for him.
Hotel? $4,602.92 – Designer not paid until May 2022.
AOC’s boyfriends shoes and bowties? $406.09 – Not paid until May 2022 (under investigation, his staff suddenly decided that he Shouldn’t get free gifts).
Car service from Carlyle to Museum? $571.59 – Unpaid until May.
The only person who paid full price for her services was the manicurist – because, as AOC staff told investigators, “the lady there said she would need to pay by … cash” .. .immediately. (Smart woman, she probably reads Hayek.)
As one AOC employee instructed the designer before the ball, “He shouldn’t look ‘rich.'” One way to not look rich is to not pay your bills.
Nicole Gelinas is a contributing editor for the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal.
