UNITED STATES—U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been accused of hiring her boyfriend and questions about potential dark money allegations. Ocasio-Cortez has denied these allegations telling Fox News, “there are no violations.”
The New York Post called Riley Roberts, “the all-but-silent partner to the Democratic congressional darling” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Roberts is Ocasio-Cortez’s boyfriend.
Roberts is reportedly from an affluent family from Paradise Valley, Arizona. He currently works as a consultant for social media and has worked building web sites in the past. Public records show that Roberts is not registered to vote.
Ocasio-Cortez’s Chief of Staff is Saikat Chakrabarti who previously served during the presidential campaign for Senator Bernie Sanders. He co-founded both the Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats. The focus of the Brand New Congress was to, “launch hundreds of progressive candidates into congressional races.”
Federal election records show that Roberts received $6,000, from Brand New Congress, a political action committee founded by Chakrabarti who helped launch Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s political campaign. The Ocasio-Cortez campaign was on record for paying $18,880 to the Brand New Congress LLC for “strategic consulting.”
Roberts does have a working email address with the federal government. Canyon News reached out to Roberts via email, but did not receive a response.
Ocasio-Cortez has been accused of violating finance laws by allowing Chakrabarti to funnel large campaign contributions through the two above mentioned corporations he co-founded creating what is called a slush fund. A slush fund is a rainy day fund, but it is used for illicit purposes like political bribery. The enclosed YouTube video, “Ocasio-Cortez’s lesson in dark money” has been noted as one of the most-watched political videos as of recent.
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has denied all allegations. Dark money is when money is filtered through a non-profit. This is done because the 501(c) are not obligated to divulge where their donations come from.
Canyon News reached out to the Federal Election Commission for a statement regarding the possibility of charges being brought against Ocasio-Cortez. Deputy Press Officer of the Federal Election commission, Christian Hilland, responded to Canyon in the statement below.
The financial records on file with Vote Smart can be seen below.
