AOC’s Ethics Complaint Explained – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), or AOC, back in April, was hit with an ethics complaint by the conservative group, The Heritage Foundation, accusing her of “defaming” the creator of the Libs of TikTok Twitter account. The complaint was personally delivered by Chaya Raichik, the account’s creator. ‘
The complaint stems from comments AOC made during a February Oversight hearing in which she asked Yoel Roth, formerly the head of “Trust and Safety” at Twitter, about Rachik’s account, which reposts content published by left-wing progressives on TikTok and other social media platforms.
During the hearing, AOC asked Roth if he knew that Raichik had claimed that Boston Children’s Hospital was performing hysterectomies to children – a claim that Ocasio-Cortez didn’t believe was accurate.
Roth said that he was aware of the claims being made on the account, prompting Ocasio-Cortez to ask the former Twitter official if he was aware the same claim was being made on other “far right” Twitter accounts.
While Ocasio-Cortez believed that the accusations were untrue – or simply wanted people to believe the accusations are untrue – Raichik was referring to a video of Dr. Frances Grimstad from the Boston Children’s Hospital. Raichik’s posts echoed comments made by Dr. Grimstad, who claimed that the hospital provides “gender-affirming” hysterectomies and “ovary removal” procedures.
The hospital’s own website also states that “gender affirmation” surgery is performed on “eligible adolescents.” Ocasio-Cortez says that the hospital does not perform hysterectomies on children, but Boston Children’s Hospital says otherwise.
The Heritage Society’s Oversight Project and Raichik herself took umbrage with Ocasio-Cortez’s comments, arguing that she broke a House ethics rule that prevents elected representatives from knowingly lying. In the complaint filed by The Heritage Foundation and Raichik, Ocasio-Cortez is accused of “knowingly and intentionally” lying about Raichik.
Why the Complaint Went Viral
The story went viral after Raichik appeared in a video published by the Heritage Foundation in which she goes to Ocasio-Cortez’s Capitol Hill office to “serve” the progressive representative with the ethics complaint. In the clip, Raichik is seen talking to a member of Ocasio-Cortez’s staff after she was told that the New York congresswoman wasn’t available to speak.
Soon after paying her office a visit, however, Raichik bumped into Ocasio-Cortez and asked for a photograph with her. As the pair were smiling for the photograph, Raichik told the legislator that she just delivered an ethics complaint to her office.
“I just delivered an ethics complaint to your office because you lied about me in a committee hearing,” Raichik said, prompting Ocasio-Cortez to step backwards and accuse Raichik of being “super transphobic.”
The complaint also isn’t the first to be filed against the New York democrat. In March, a report from the Office of Congressional Ethics recommended that the House Ethics Committee continue an investigation into Ocasio-Cortez’s attendance of the 2021 Met Gala. According to the report, Ocasio-Cortez was likely given “impermissible gifts” in the form of tickets and the famous “Tax the Rich” dress.
While The Heritage Foundation has requested the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate the matter, there is no guarantee that an investigation will take place on the AOC matter.
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
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