Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) is under investigation by the House Office of Congressional Ethics for accusations that she allegedly “solicited or accepted impermissible gifts.”
Maloney, the Democratic chair of the House Oversight Committee, is being probed for potentially attempting to use her political leverage to score tickets to the ritzy Met Gala in 2016.
The ethics panel voted unanimously in June to investigate after conducting interviews and reviewing emails from leaders of New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. This group puts on the annual fundraising ball, which is a major gathering for the rich, powerful, and fashionable.
Former museum president Emily Rafferty sent an email to several museum executives that was revealed to the ethics office.
The same Dem Chair of the House Oversight Committee responsible for a bogus investigation into an NFL team for political reasons, is now under an ethics investigation herself. If Maloney wants to stop corruption, she should start by looking in the mirror.https://t.co/dUhM7jROta
— Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) November 22, 2022
Rafferty related to her colleagues that Maloney told her that she does a lot for the organization and is “always responsive when you call.” She said that the congresswoman was “unhappy to say the least” that she was not invited to the swanky gathering.
The ethics office said in a report that there is “substantial reason to believe” that Maloney acted inappropriately in attempting to leverage an invitation.
It added that if she indeed solicited or received improper gifts, she could be in violation of “House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law.”
The representative is hardly a stranger to controversy. Recently she was accused of carrying out a vendetta against the Washington Commanders NFL team through the power of the Oversight Committee.
In 2009 she used the “N” word while recalling a phone conversation she had.
Maloney will have plenty of time to pursue another line of work — or Met Gala tickets — as she will not be returning to the House. She was defeated in the August Democratic primary by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY).
