Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Destroys Bogus Claim She Hired Her Boyfriend
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has faced a series of smears from the right, and they continued on Friday when GOP strategist Luke Thompson posted a screenshot of what he said was the email of Riley Roberts, the freshman congresswoman’s longtime boyfriend.
Showing the address, which was for a government account, Thompson argued it proved Ocasio-Cortez had decided to employ Roberts with taxpayer dollars.
“Nice to see her adapting to the swamp so quickly,” he added.
It wasn’t long before the lawmaker herself jumped in, explaining that it was permission for him to access her Google calendar.
“Congressional spouses get Gcal access all the time,” she said. “Next time check your facts before you tweet nonsense.”
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.— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 15, 2019
When Thompson insisted on peppering Ocasio-Cortez with questions, her chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti arrived at her defense, stating that Roberts isn’t paid nor is he doing government work.
Chakrabarti, too, told Thompson, who has written for the National Review, to check his facts in more colorful terms:
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. Check your damn facts before you report bullshit. Lazy journos need to learn to do their jobs.
— Saikat Chakrabarti (@saikatc) February 15, 2019
One of the most notable attempts to ding Ocasio-Cortez’s reputation occurred last month when a video of her dancing while a student at Boston University began circulating on conservative Twitter.
However, the spread of the footage, which right-wingers painted as scandalous, ended up backfiring, as many social media users found it endearing and playful.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.