“Rules for thee, not for me,” while this quote didn’t come from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) it certainly applies to her.
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For the second time, Ocasio-Cortez has decided to flout congressional financial disclosure laws but this time she is openly admitting to it. Ocasio-Cortez was required by federal law to submit her 2021 finances to the House Ethics Committee 11 days ago on Aug. 13 but has yet to do so.
However, when reporters reach out to AOC’s office about the blunder — instead of immediately moving to correct what could have been a clerical oversight — a spokesperson doubled down on AOC’s actions.
“The committee provides a 30-day grace period before fines are levied. The congresswoman plans to file before the period expires,” Ocasio-Cortez Communications Director Lauren Hitt told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday evening.
While the consequences aren’t all that severe if AOC ultimately passes the 30-day mark, she will have to pay a $200 fine, her devil-may-care attitude has some voters frustrated.
According to the Washington Examiner:
“Not only is she an admitted scofflaw — she’s a repeat offender,” said Paul Kamenar, an attorney for the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative ethics watchdog group. “One must wonder whether she also files her income tax returns past the deadlines.”
“Just like AOC did in 2020 when she filed her 2019 disclosure report 30 days late after the 90-day extension, she’s at it again, blowing off the deadline for filing her 2021 filing that was due on Aug. 13,” Kamenar added.
Almost all members of the House have reported their 2021 financial disclosures as required by federal law as of Wednesday morning, the New York Democrat is one of 10 House reps who have yet to report their finances.
AOC’s conscious decision to hold off on reporting her finances has drawn increased skepticism due to her very public stance in regard to her own colleagues’ finances. The congresswoman has repeatedly pushed to prohibit lawmakers from holding stocks, saying it is a “threat to democracy.”
In April, AOC called for a congressional stock-trading ban after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s success within the stock market raised alarms that she and other lawmakers could commit insider trading violations. (RELATED: Pelosi’s Husband’s Stock Trades Ahead of Key Vote ‘Stinks to High Heaven’)
“We are also tackling a crisis of faith in our institutions in the United States, and that exploitation of that crisis of faith is a direct threat to our democracy,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that we eliminate, again, that perception of impropriety because it is these perceptions that can be exploited to undermine our most sacred institutions,” she added.
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