Missing in Action: AOC Delays Financial Disclosure Filing
Absentee Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has not only been absent from her district but has also failed to submit her 2024 financial disclosure documents for several months.
The New York Democrat was one of many lawmakers requesting a 90-day extension for filing these documents back in May. However, she missed the subsequent deadline, as reported.
Finally, Ocasio-Cortez submitted her disclosure on Wednesday, albeit a week past the due date.
In her financial declaration, she indicated having between $17,000 and $81,000 across various bank accounts, alongside student loan debts ranging from $15,000 to $50,000. The federal forms provide financial details in ranges.
Within her assets, the “Squad” member noted a savings account containing between $15,000 and $50,000, as well as a checking account with $1,000 to $15,000.
Additionally, she reported having $1,000 to $15,000 in a 401(k) from the National Hispanic Institute, where she previously served as the educational director prior to her congressional role.
In her 2023 annual disclosure, AOC had reported savings between $3,000 and $46,000, indicating an increase in her wealth ranging from $14,000 to $65,000 within the last year.
As with her congressional peers, she receives an annual salary of $174,000.
The representative declared less than $1,000 in a brokerage account.
Notably, her financial disclosure did not mention Riley Roberts, her partner of over a decade and fiancé.
Ocasio-Cortez, 35, faced scrutiny from the House Ethics Committee last month for designating Roberts, 37, as her “spouse” on certain ethics forms to gain benefits like travel and gala invitations while excluding him from financial disclosures to avoid revealing his financial interests.
“There’s a rationale behind Congress’s requirement for financial disclosures to encompass the spouses of lawmakers,” remarked Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, interim vice president of policy and government affairs at the Project On Government Oversight.
Roberts, who met AOC during their time at Boston University and worked on her 2018 campaign, identified AOC as his spouse in several reports related to trips to destinations such as Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Italy. Previously, he was referenced in 2021 to justify a complimentary $250 Met Gala ticket, where she notably wore her ‘Tax the Rich’ dress valued at $3,724.
“As Representative Ocasio-Cortez was trying to benefit from exceptions to the Gift Rule that only apply to spouses, she was not revealing Mr. Roberts’ financial interests as is mandated for legally married Members,” stated the House Ethics committee’s 26-page July report.
Roberts, a web developer hailing from an affluent area of Arizona, reported no assets, debts, or stock holdings in his financial disclosure form.
Ocasio-Cortez, engaged to Roberts in Puerto Rico in 2022, has remained reticent about their wedding date. She did not provide a response when contacted for comment.
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