Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez faces questions after her boyfriend gets congressional email account

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez faces questions after her boyfriend gets congressional email accountRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is facing ethics questions after revelations the freshman lawmaker's office gave her boyfriend a congressional email account. The democratic socialist waded into the issue in response to a tweet alleging boyfriend Riley Roberts had been put on staff. The tweet included a screenshot of an official House email address. Ocasio-Cortez insisted that he was only given the email account so he could access her calendar. “Actually this calendar designation is a permission so he can have access to my Google Calendar. Congressional spouses get Gcal access all the time,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote, after political consultant Luke Thompson tweeted the picture showing Roberts having an official account like other staffers on the Hill. "Next time check your facts before you tweet nonsense." Luke Thompson @ltthompso · 12h While you were having a nice Valentine's Day, @AOC decided to put her boyfriend on staff - drawing a salary on the taxpayer's dime. Nice to see her adapting to the swamp so quickly. View image on Twitter Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ✔ @AOC Actually this cal designation is a permission so he can have access to my Google Cal. Congressional spouses get Gcal access all the time. Next time check your facts before you tweet nonsense. 54K 8:45 PM - Feb 15, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 7,870 people are talking about this AMAZON BLASTS OCASIO-CORTEZ, SAYS 'WE DON'T WANT TO WORK IN THIS ENVIRONMENT IN THE LONG TERM' Asked about the arrangement, David O'Boyle, the spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, told Fox News: "From time to time, at the request of members, spouses and partners are provided House email accounts for the purposes of viewing the member’s calendar." But Jason Chaffetz, former chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said Ocasio-Cortez' claims don’t stack up. "It’s totally naïve and inappropriate – you wouldn’t allow it in most companies, let alone the House of Representatives. There should be real consequences,” Chaffetz told Fox News. "It’s totally naïve and inappropriate – you wouldn’t allow it in most companies, let alone the House of Representatives." — Jason Chaffetz “When I was in the House, my scheduler would forward my wife my schedule once a week. But you’re not allowed unfettered access. And he isn’t even her spouse,” he added. “... It should be referred to the ethics committee for further investigation.” Meanwhile, Thompson's tweet touched off a Twitter battle with the congresswoman's staff. Saikat Chakrabarti, the congresswoman’s chief of staff, insisted that the boyfriend isn’t on the payroll and that he’s not doing any work related to the government. “He's not paid. We have no volunteers in the office. He's not doing any government work. He can see her calendar just like spouses/partners/family members in other congressional office,” he wrote, adding in another tweet, “Spouses and partners normally get http://mail.house.gov e-mail addresses for the purpose of getting calendar access.” Andrew Follett ✔ @ · 11h Replying to @saikatc and 2 others That's a staff email address. There's not such thing as a "spouse" email address. You are almost certainly running afoul of federal ethics laws by having that address. Lazy chief of staffs need to learn to do their jobs. You MIGHT get away with it because they're not married View image on Twitter Saikat Chakrabarti @saikatc He's not on staff/not paid. Spouses and partners normally get http://mail.house.gov e-mail addresses for the purpose of getting calendar access. 223 9:19 PM - Feb 15, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 91 people are talking about this ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ CALLS GREEN NEW DEAL A 'LIFE AND DEATH' ISSUE, ATTACKS GOP ON CLIMATE CHANGE House IT rules generally prohibit the use of “the House’s electronic mail systems and resources” by unauthorized members, and only “U.S. House of Representative Members, Officers, Employees, Fellows, Interns and Contractors” with appropriate permission can use the system. Still, O'Boyle cited the practice of sometimes allowing spouses access. Chaffetz said that Roberts having email access could also create other security issues and the matter should be referred to the Capitol Police for further investigation. “Being given a password to get into the House computer system has other potentially problematic issues,” he said.