Ocasio-Cortez Used ‘Earth Day Fun Run’ To FOOL Supporters Into Donating Money To HER Campaign
By Jon Dougherty at The National Sentinel
For a little socially conscience ‘reformer,’ one of Congress’ newest Marxists, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has quickly adopted the ways of her Democrat colleagues, as evidenced by the ‘bait-and-switch’ act she pulled over the weekend.
Ocasio-Cortez sponsored a “fun run” event in New York City, ostensibly to raise funds for “Earth Day” and her “Green New Deal.”
At least, that’s what most participants thought, according to the New York Post. The 400 or so participants paid a $30 ‘entry fee’ to take part in the run; little did they know that the more than $11,000 raised went directly into Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign fund.
“We’re getting together for our own health, for our planet’s health … and to fight for the Green New Deal together,” Ocasio-Cortez told the participants before they set off.
AOC raised over $11K for campaign in Queens 'fund run' https://t.co/Isz0qcnKXu pic.twitter.com/REqfz2rYjJ
— New York Post (@nypost) April 28, 2019
Entrants believed they were doing something really great for the planet as they jogged through Astoria Park alongside a smiling, walking, Ocasio-Cortez.
“It’s going to help raise awareness and educate people,” one female runner told the New York Post.
“I think it’s really for this particular New Green Deal,” said Brian Schwartz of Long Island. “No question.”
“It’s to help the environment. To support the Green New Deal,” another woman said. “It’s a good cause.”
However:
A vaguely worded notices on AOC’s Facebook page — saying that the run would support “U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez & the Green New Deal” — worsened the confusion.
But the fine print on a third event-related website revealed the truth.
“Registration fees are contributions to AOC for Congress,” reads the legal disclosure on aoc5k.com, which lists the Federal Election Commission rules that donors must follow.
“It was a campaign fundraiser,” Ocasio-Cortez spokesman Corbin Trent said confirmed.
Ocasio-Cortez didn’t just fleece adults, however; kids as young as three also paid fees of up to $20 to participate.
And, according to the Post, “by fudging the fact that those fees were actually campaign contributions, AOC may have enticed constituents into inadvertently breaking federal election laws. Parents, for example, can’t contribute their own funds in a child’s name.”
The 11 grand raised is a drop in the bucket for Ocasio-Cortez, who managed to raise nearly $727,000 during the first quarter (only 4 percent of that money came from constituents in her district, by the way).
But the fact is, fooling people into donating to your campaign when you led them to believe their money was going for something else is classic bait-and-switch, fraud, and a trait of Marxists and Leninists throughout the existence of the ideology.
“The site says it’s to benefit her environmental plan,” said one supporter who would not give his name. “If it is going to go directly to her campaign they should have said so.”
Mind you, this comes after Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign manager was accused of engaging in a “brazen dark money scheme” by a watchdog group, per NewsTarget:
According to a complaint filed last month with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), a pair of political action committees founded by Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 campaign manager, Saikat Chakrabarti, allegedly funneled $1 million in donations into two of his private companies, the Washington Examiner reported.
The complaint, filed by the National Legal and Policy Center, a government watchdog organization, claims Chakrabarti set up the two companies for the express purpose of hiding how the donations were utilized. The two PACs – Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats — were founded in 2016 and 2017.
For someone who breezed into Washington, D.C., railing against the unfavorable influences of big money interests, Ocasio-Cortez seems to have adapted to her new political environment quite nicely.
This article originally appeared at The National Sentinel and was republished with permission.
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