Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has once again made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The socialist lawmaker filed her mandatory 2024 financial disclosure documents more than three months late, raising fresh questions about transparency and accountability.
AOC initially requested a 90-day extension when disclosures were due in May but missed the second deadline, finally submitting her documents last Wednesday, one week late.
The filings list her assets and liabilities in ranges: $17,000 to $81,000 in bank accounts, $15,000 to $50,000 in student loans, and a small 401(k) from her previous work as an educational director for the National Hispanic Institute.
While the numbers reveal modest growth from her 2023 disclosure, adding somewhere between $14,000 and $65,000, the glaring omission is her fiancé of over a decade, Riley Roberts.
AOC has previously faced scrutiny from the House Ethics Committee for calling Roberts her “spouse” on certain forms, allowing him perks such as travel and Met Gala access.
Yet Roberts’ finances were left off her financial disclosure, sidestepping the federal requirement to report spousal assets, the New York Post reported.
Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, interim VP of policy at the Project On Government Oversight, criticized the omission.
“If her fiancée is going to avail himself of some of the perks and privileges of the spouse of a member of Congress, he should surely have to likewise comply with the less convenient parts,” he said. Hedtler-Gaudette called the loophole “an easy way to transfer conflicted or problematic assets into a spouse’s name,” a loophole AOC appears to be exploiting.
Roberts, 37, a web developer from Arizona, met AOC while both attended Boston University. He worked on her 2018 campaign and has previously accompanied her to international trips to Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Italy.
He also attended the 2021 Met Gala, where AOC famously wore her $3,724 “Tax the Rich” gown. Despite these high-profile appearances, Roberts’ finances remain unreported.
The situation has reignited criticism of AOC as an “absentee” representative. Constituents and watchdogs alike question how a lawmaker can hold others accountable while repeatedly skirting transparency rules herself.
AOC, who got engaged to Roberts in Puerto Rico in 2022, has not announced a wedding date and has remained tight-lipped about the disclosures. She did not return requests for comment regarding the late filing or the omission of her fiancé’s financial information.
With her latest financial disclosure saga, AOC faces renewed scrutiny for her approach to ethics, accountability, and the very rules she champions publicly.
