Rep. Carolyn Maloney is under investigation for allegedly asking for an invitation to the Met Gala, which would violate House rules and federal law on solicitation of gifts, according to a congressional ethics watchdog.
In a June report released on Nov. 21, the Office of Congressional Ethics said it has "Substantial reason to believe that Maloney may have solicited or accepted impermissible gifts" associated with her Met Gala attendance in 2016.
Maloney, 76, a longtime attendee of the Met Gala, had secured $2.75 million in federal funding for the Met from 2003 through 2011, and requested in March 2020 $4 billion in federal assistance for nonprofit museums, including the Met, for COVID-19 relief, according to the OCE report.
Investigators obtained an internal memorandum from the Met showing Maloney's name crossed out of its 2016 invitation list.
Maloney, an outgoing New York Democrat, denied the allegation, saying the House Ethics Committee "Has provided no concrete evidence" that she was actually requesting an invitation.
"Chairwoman Maloney's alleged communications about the 2016 Gala merely reflected her confusion concerning her invitation to the event. However, Chairwoman Maloney's alleged conduct does not rise to the level of an impermissible 'solicitation,'" Maloney's attorneys wrote in an email to Ethics Committee Chief Counsel Tom Rust.
Maloney's Met Gala red carpet appearance last September featured a suffragette-themed dress, embroidered with words calling for women's equality.
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