AOC blamed aide for stiffing merchants behind Met Gala perks: probe

Socialist darling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez threw one of her campaign staffers under the bus after the Democrat apparently flouted House ethics rules by attending the 2021 Met Gala wearing luxurious apparel that included a glitzy gown with “Tax the Rich” inscribed across the back in blood-red letters.

The Bronx and Queens rep, 33, claimed to investigators with the Office of Congressional Ethics she was unaware that thousands of dollars for her dress rental, shoes, hair, makeup and other accouterments went unpaid for months after the event, leaving her open to allegations of improperly accepting gifts.

“I just never, ever, ever would have allowed that to happen knowing what I have learned,” Ocasio-Cortez said during a May 2022 interview. “But I wasn’t privy to the invoices, wasn’t privy to the ones that had been sent.”

The “Squad” member claimed her underling had access to her credit cards and was tasked with paying the hair stylists, makeup artists, and dressmakers.

But the OCE’s report, made public Thursday, revealed those expenses were not paid until after the office opened its probe of Ocasio-Cortez on Feb. 22, 2022.

The following day, the hair stylist’s agency threatened to report AOC’s campaign to New York City’s Office of Labor Policy if the $477.73 it owed was not deposited by close of business the following day — which it was.

“It is just a deeply regrettable situation,” the congresswoman said during her interview. “I feel terrible for, especially, the small businesses that were impacted.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s former aide took responsibility for the mistake in a separate interview, telling investigators the expenses “fell off my radar.”

“I think the delay there for me was I didn’t have access to her personal credit card at that moment,” the ex-staffer said, while noting “it isn’t because she withheld it from me or anything like that.”

The congresswoman maintained during her interview that she had discussed her attendance at the gala with her general counsel to ensure she stayed on the right side of the ethical line.

AOC’s counsel, David Mitrani, maintains the congresswoman did not violate House ethics rules during the event.

“To the contrary, the record clearly shows that the Congresswoman always understood that she had to pay for these expenses personally — and she even worked with the undersigned counsel prior to the event to ensure that she complied with all applicable ethics rules,” he said in a statement to OCE.

Six days after the Gala, on Sept. 19, 2021, the AOC campaign received a bill for $2,283.93 for the dress and handbag rental, as well as the shoes she wore that night. The following day, Sept. 20, a revised invoice for $990.76 was sent — with $1,000 knocked off the price of the gown rental without explanation. That bill was also not paid until March 2022.

The Office of Congressional Ethics unanimously recommended that the House Ethics Committee move forward with its probe and subpoena designer Aurora James, who has refused to cooperate with the investigation.

Two conservative groups first filed ethics complaints against Ocasio-Cortez over her gala attendance, claiming that she improperly accepted tickets valued at around $30,000.

While lawmakers are allowed to take free tickets to charity events directly from organizers, the complaints alleged the Met Gala didn’t apply since invitations were controlled by media conglomerate Conde Nast, while tables were purchased by corporate names like Instagram.

The “Squad” member accepted an invitation from Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour to attend with now-fiancé Riley Roberts.