Ethics group urges probe into AOC’s use of House video for campaign
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust is urging the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) for incorporating House video into her campaign promotion. Instances were flagged where Ocasio-Cortez shared videos of herself speaking in the House on her campaign’s social media, raising concerns about the potential violation of federal laws and House rules.
A watchdog group is calling on the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) for using video of House proceedings in the promotion of her election campaign.
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust’s report highlighted four instances in which Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign social media account reposted videos of herself speaking on the House floor. Federal law and House rules prohibit congressional members from utilizing official House resources, which are funded by taxpayers and evoke the authority of the government, for their own campaign use.
“The law is quite clear that Members cannot use official resources, and specifically House video, for political purposes,” Kendra Arnold, executive director of FACT, said. “This law not only safeguards taxpayer-funded resources from abuse, but it upholds the integrity of official proceedings by minimizing the incentive for Members to use them for their own personal political gain.”
According to House rules, members are strictly prohibited from using photographs and video of the House floor or committee proceedings for campaigning. When it comes to a member’s campaign social media account, they cannot link any official content or resources nor include a link to the member’s account.
On Ocasio-Cortez’s personal account, she first retweeted a post on Feb. 16 from commentator Kaivan Shroff that shows a video of her asking a question to Michael Cohen during a committee hearing in 2019. She announced plans to run for reelection on Feb. 22.
On March 13, she retweeted a post from the account of Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), which shows a clip of House proceedings and includes McGovern calling for President Joe Biden to end military aid to Israel. On March 22, Ocasio-Cortez retweeted two clips of herself speaking during House proceedings, one retweeted from her account and one from journalist Aaron Rupar.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“It is important that the position of an elected federal official not be unduly leveraged for political purposes,” Arnold said. “This is not a one-time occurrence for Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, she has repeatedly disregarded this law and the OCE should take swift action.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s office did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
