House Ethics panel releases findings on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mike Kelly

WASHINGTON — As lawmakers head into their summer recess, the House Ethics Committee wrapped up some longstanding business, announcing on Friday the results of its probes into Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Mike Kelly.

The committee concluded that Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., impermissibly accepted gifts related to her appearance at the 2021 Met Gala.

Meanwhile, Kelly, R-Pa., was under scrutiny for investments his wife, Victoria Kelly, made in a company with ties to his district. The committee opted to recommend divestiture and reprove him for how he handled the investigation.

“Members are entitled to defend themselves when under investigation by the Committee, but they have a duty to diligently address allegations that impact the integrity of the institution,” states the newly released report on Kelly’s conduct. “Representative Kelly acted in a manner that did not reflect creditably upon the House by failing to meet his duty of candor to the Committee.”

A 2012 federal law prohibits members of Congress from trading on inside information gleaned from their jobs, including providing tips to others. Members must disclose stocks purchased by themselves or their spouses.

According to the report, Kelly in 2020 rallied support for Trump-era tariffs protecting the production of grain-oriented electrical steel. Around the same time, the CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., which was the sole producer in the country of that kind of steel, said without tariffs it would have to close a plant in Kelly’s district and lay off employees.

On April 28, 2020, Cleveland-Cliffs decided not to close the plant and notified the congressman’s staff, according to the ethics report. The next day, Kelly’s wife purchased 5,000 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs stock for $23,075, which was disclosed the following month.

Kelly’s wife made an additional purchase of the same stock while the investigation was ongoing, the report states. Kelly failed to disclose this trade in a timely manner and didn’t respond to questions about the purchase, the committee said.

“The Committee did not receive full cooperation from Mrs. Kelly and was therefore unable to determine whether her stock purchase was improper,” the report states.

The committee found that Kelly violated the House’s Code of Official Conduct but did not find substantial evidence that he violated conflict of interest or insider trading rules. They recommended that Kelly and his wife divest from Cleveland-Cliffs stock if he plans to take “any further official action relating to the company.”

“This investigation has unnecessarily lasted for nearly five years,” Kelly said in an emailed statement Friday, noting that he advocated during that time for the 1,400 workers at the steel plant. “I’ve spoken with these workers, and they appreciate the hard work we have done to fight for those jobs and for Butler. My family and I look forward to putting this distraction behind us.”

Ocasio-Cortez sparked controversy after donning a white gown at the star-studded 2021 gala with the words “Tax the Rich” emblazoned in red on the back.

The probe began with a referral from the Office of Congressional Conduct, which suggested the New York Democrat paid many of her bills related to the dress, accessories, room service and transportation months after the event and only after her campaign received threats from vendors and was notified of the investigation.

The ethics report released Friday notes that Ocasio-Cortez “proactively took steps to ensure her compliance with the Gift Rule, including by engaging counsel prior to her attendance and by arranging to ‘rent’ her apparel and to pay for various services out of her personal funds.” The committee commended her for those efforts, but found that she relied on counsel, staff and designers to calculate fair-market rates for items she wore.

“Those calculations did not fully account for the true cost of the unique goods and services she received,” the report states.

“While the Committee did not find that Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s violations were knowing and willful, she nonetheless received impermissible gifts and must bear responsibility for the other conduct that occurred with respect to the delays in payment,” the report continues.

The committee ruled that it would be appropriate for the New York Democrat to make additional payments, at which point it would consider the investigation closed.

“She accepts the ruling and will remedy the remaining amounts, as she’s done at each step in this process,” Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, Mike Casca, said in an emailed statement Friday.

The House Ethics Committee is an internal and typically secretive body made up of five Democrats and five Republicans. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., is the chair and Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif., is the ranking member.

Also on Friday, the committee announced it would extend probes into Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and Florida Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that the Justice Department is continuing its bribery case against Cuellar, who, along with his wife, was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2024 for their alleged participation in a yearslong scheme involving Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank. Both Cuellar and his wife have pleaded not guilty.

“The Committee is aware of the risks associated with dual investigations and is in communication with the Department of Justice to mitigate the potential risks while still meeting the Committee’s obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House,” the committee said in a statement.

As for Cherfilus-McCormick, the Ethics Committee has voted to reauthorize an investigative subcommittee, according to Friday’s release, which also noted that “the mere fact of an investigation into these allegations does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.”

In May, the committee released a referral it received from the OCC, which summarized a series of potential violations, including possibly requesting community project funding that would be redirected to a for-profit entity.

Cherfilus-McCormick, through a spokesperson, could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.