The House Ethics Committee is investigating Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., for potentially violating ethics rules by seeking an invitation to the Met Gala.
The committee’s inquiry into Maloney was revealed in a report on Monday, saying she may have improperly sought an invitation to the exclusive event in 2016. Maloney has been a long-time attendee at the event.
“If Rep. Maloney solicited or accepted impermissible gifts, then she may have violated House rules, standards of conduct and federal law,” the board of the Office of Congressional Ethics wrote in the report.
Investigators say Maloney was taken off the invite list in 2016, and that she subsequently called former Met president Emily Rafferty and soon secured tickets, Politico reported Tuesday. Maloney has attended the event each year since 2016.
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Maloney has reportedly told investigators that she has always been invited to the Met Gala and does not remember making the call to Rafferty.
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Attorneys for Maloney argued in a statement to investigators that her attendance at the 2016 gala and others “was appropriate and complied with all applicable House gift rules, laws, and regulations. In addition, Chairwoman Maloney did not impermissibly solicit an invitation to these events.”
Maloney isn’t the only Democratic lawmaker to have made waves by attending the Met Gala. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also raised eyebrows last year when she showed up to the event in a dress emblazoned with the words “tax the rich.”
The committee has not announced a timeline for their investigation into the matter.
Maloney, chair of the House Oversight Committee, is leaving office at the end of her term on January 3, after losing her Democratic primary race to House Judiciary Committee chair Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.