FEC Complaint Outlines AOC Campaign Finance Anomolies

(TheConservativeTimes.org) – The Federal Election Commission (FEC) received the ethics complaint on April 12 filed on behalf of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation by Dan Backer. The complaint outlines credit card expenditures of at least $9,600 by Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez that lack the required disclosure of the purpose of the charges.

Campaigns are allowed to have and use charge cards, or reimburse personal cards used by candidates, with the caveat that each expenditure must be itemized detailing the cost and purpose of the expense. This keeps candidates and their committees from running afoul of the guardrails meant to stop fraudulent payments or gifts with campaign funds.

The complaint indicates repeat violations of federal campaign finance law by Ocsasio-Cortez’ authorized candidate committee; ‘AOC for Congress’. Expenditures amounting to thousands of dollars paid to vendors, or to reimburse the congresswoman herself, that lack any real transparency or accountability.

Some of the cases cited in Dan Backer’s complaint indicate no stated purpose for the payments Ocasio-Cortez committee made in 2022. Dan Backer states in the complaint, “Without disclosing her credit card spending spree, it is impossible to determine if AOC is illegally using campaign funds to pay personal expenses”, the complaint continued, “Not only is the public entitled to that information, but without such disclosure, it is impossible to confirm a candidate is not illegally using campaign funds to pay personal expenses.”

This isn’t the first time the House Ethics Committee has had a peek into the spending habits of AOC. In 2022 the HEC opened an investigation related to an appearance made by AOC and her fiance, Riley Roberts, at the 2021 Met Gala.

When notified of the HEC review Ocsasio-Cortez circled back and paid the rental value for the couture gown she wore to the gala, the items worn by her fiance to the event, and paid for the other services she received to be red carpet ready. Ultimately AOC put the blame on a campaign staffer.

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