The ethics committee of the House of Representatives is looking into whether or not the outgoing Upper East Side Rep. violated rules by requesting tickets to the Met Gala.
The former president of the museum was called in March 2016 to beg a ticket to that year's edition by the 76-year-old congressman, whose three-decade run in Congress came to an end at the hands of fellow Rep. Jerry Nadler.
An April 2, 2016 email from Rafferty to Met executives was included in the OCE report.
She talked about how much she does for the Met and how responsive she was when you called. For what it is worth, I highly recommend you include Carolyn and Scott in your 80 allotted spaces.
The solicitation of free tickets is not allowed if the invitation is not from a charity.
Tom Schuler, the museum's former chief government relations officer, said in an email last year that Maloney had earned a permanent spot on the guest list due to her temper.
Each year we have been able to get one seat for her.
According to the OCE report, the gala was a top of mind for the lawmaker.
I was wondering if we heard from the Met on the ball. In February 2020, a staffer received an email from Maloney asking if he was invited.
When the staffer tells him that he hasn't been invited to the showcase, and that he's going to have a meeting with Schuler to get an invite, he asks how to call him.
The event was canceled due to the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
According to the OCE report, there was a lot of reason to believe that Rep. Maloney may have solicited or accepted impermissible gifts.
The matter was referred by the OCE in June of this year, and the committee voted last month to extend its review.
The committee noted that the mere fact of conducting further review of a referral, and any mandatory disclosure of such further review, does not indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgement on behalf of the committee.
The Met Gala raises money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. According to Vogue, Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine, personally approves each of the more than 500 invitees.
The OCE found that the Met received over two million dollars from the federal government. She requested $4 billion in federal funds for the Met and other museums in March 2020.
According to her attorneys, her attendance at the Met Gala was appropriate and complied with all applicable House gift rules. Chairwoman Maloney didn't impermissibly invite these events.
The report can be found at NY Post.com.
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