Poor Alex Stein. His favorite hot tamale, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, may be officially off the market. Or is she?
This morning, Andrew Kerr and The Washington Free Beacon revealed that AOC has reported her fiancé as her 'spouse' in Congressional filings, even though her office denies that she is married.
NEW: Is AOC married?
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) September 13, 2023
Her office says no, but she's identified Riley Roberts as her "spouse" in four filings with the House Ethics Committee so far in 2023.
The committee has a strict definition of spouse — "someone to whom you are legally married."
🧵https://t.co/FFKgLBbml1
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D., N.Y.) office says she isn’t married. But she has described her fiancé, Riley Roberts, as her "spouse" in forms filed with the House Ethics Committee in 2023, which has a strict definition of that term—"someone to whom you are legally married."
As Kerr points out, the distinction is important for the purposes of financial disclosure.
If AOC is indeed married, her spouse's finances are now subject to public disclosure.
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) September 13, 2023
But she did not disclose any of Roberts’s reportable stock holdings, assets, or income on her latest financial disclosure, though she did make two references to her "spouse" in the filing. pic.twitter.com/USREG8xvdI
According to AOC's office, the term 'spouse' can refer to a long-term partner, but this is not the case according to the House Ethics Committee and the Code of Official Conduct, most assuredly for those public disclosure reasons, among others. The term spouse, again very clearly defined, appears 161 times in the House Ethics Manual, so there are plenty of rules in addition to financial disclosure, which govern such a relationship.
The issue came to light because of AOC's international travel schedule.
...four legal filings submitted to the House Ethics Committee pertaining to AOC’s overseas travels in 2022 and 2023 suggest the pair have been legally married at least since Jan. 13, 2023. If that is the case, the "Squad" member can no longer leverage the so-called boyfriend loophole to evade public disclosure of his finances.
Despite establishing herself as a champion of congressional ethics, AOC has no interest in closing this loophole.
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) September 13, 2023
The legislation she introduced in May to ban her colleagues and their spouses from trading stocks?
Doesn't apply to Roberts if they remain unmarried. Convenient. pic.twitter.com/vBWYMqy1Tf
AOC makes a big show out of not owning stocks or crypto. She says this is so she can do her job "as ethically and impartially as I can."
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) September 13, 2023
But what about Riley Roberts? Does he own stocks or crypto?
I've asked AOC's office several times since she got engaged. They won't say.
Oh, Luuuuuucy. You got some 'splainin' to doooo.
Either they are not married, in which case AOC needs to answer for why she completed her travel forms falsely, or they are married, in which Roberts has some financial disclosure obligations. When will AOC let us know which one it is?
I for one find it extremely difficult to believe that she would lie to the American people…..
— SECRET SQUIRREL ⎷⎷ (@SecritSqrl) September 13, 2023
Yes, look at our faces. These are our shocked faces.
Well, she wouldn't be the 1st member of The Squad to have dubious marrital status.
— Broodwars (@broodwars64) September 13, 2023
We are fairly certain that Riley Roberts is not AOC's brother, so at least that's a relief.
Did we ever think to ask if AOC is identifying as a married woman ???
— MarvinDorfler (@MarvinDorfler26) September 13, 2023
Of course. The identity politics loophole. Democrats love that one. It has been ironclad for them in the past.
I don't know who has it worse, Prince Harry or this guy.
— Kelly (@countrygrl_99) September 13, 2023
Ouch. That's gonna leave a mark.
For Democrats, rules matter only when they can be used against their opponents. https://t.co/IEuPEPMeCN
— Mark 🥓🥓🐊 (@PitmasterMark69) September 13, 2023
Sometimes we forget the rules are (D)ifferent for them.
All kidding aside though, this is a serious ethical issue for AOC. She has to answer this question one way or another. After all, she is the people's champion of accountability.
Unless there's a Met Gala to attend or an Italy vacation waiting, apparently.
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