Pelosi, AOC, and Other House Dems Accused of Continual Misuse of Funds

(LibertySociety.com) – The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) is charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against members of the United States House of Representatives, but one watchdog group recently accused the entity of failing to seek accountability. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) filed an ethics complaint on January 22 against 10 far-left radical progressive members of the House. Representatives Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Cori Bush, D-MO., Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Sean Casten, Ted Lieu, D-Calif., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., were among those cited in the complaint.

The group noted that it had sent previous examples of ethics violations to the OCE and attached 91 pages of new instances. Most were House members using official videos and photos on their campaign social media accounts. Members are not allowed to use taxpayer-funded resources for political campaigning. Pelosi was cited for using an official House video on her campaign website. The group provided proof that Omar had used a video from C-Span for an Instagram post.

FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold blasted the OCE in the complaint, writing that its “failure to act has encouraged continued violations.” She added that the entity “has both the authority and a clear responsibility” to quickly act on complaints. She noted that the public would lose trust in the OCE if it continued to allow the violations. The complaint also said that members are aware that using such materials provides a political benefit to their campaigns and that they would continue the violations if they were not punished. The OCE is made up of a board of directors that includes private citizens who do not work for the government. They elevate complaints to the Committee on Ethics in the House of Representatives when warranted. House staffers are also subject to ethics rules and their actions can be reviewed by the OCE. The OCE came into the spotlight early last year when Republicans weighed making changes in the new Congress, such as creating term limits for the board of directors.