Report: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s ex-chief of staff faces allegations of campaign finance violations

It didn’t take long for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to go from revolution to corruption.

The New York Democrat’s former chief of staff is under federal investigation for campaign finance violations, the New York Post reported Saturday. Saikat Chakrabarti suddenly resigned Friday, months after The Washington Examiner first reported about Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaints against him.

AOC’s ex-staffer faces FEC probe

Chakrabarti is the mastermind behind two far-left political action committees, Justice Democrat and Brand New Congress, which have played an important role in elevating far-left Democrats like Ocasio-Cortez. They are also the two groups at the center of the campaign finance investigation.

In March, a Federal Election Commission complaint was lodged against Chakrabarti alleging that he funneled almost $1 million from the two PACs into two similarly named private firms that he controlled, Brand New Campaign LLC and the Brand New Congress LLC. Chakrabarti was accused of siphoning the funds to the companies to hide campaign contributions from the FEC.

In April, another complaint was lodged accusing Chakrabarti accusing him of using Brand New Congress to provide illegal in-kind contributions in the form of subsidized consulting services. Chakrabarti allegedly used the company to provide discounted consulting for Ocasio-Cortez and other candidates that was offset with money from the two PACS.

Ocasio-Cortez has claimed that the allegations are the result of “conservative interest groups just filing bogus proposals.” Chakrabarti’s abrupt resignation Friday reportedly sparked the FEC investigation.

“Upon finding reason to believe that a violation has occurred or is about to occur, the Commission may authorize an investigation,” an FEC enforcement guidebook says.

Controversial chief of staff

Chakrabarti’s $80,000 salary is also under investigation. His income fell well below the average of a senior-ranking congressional staffer, which allowed Ocasio-Cortez to pay junior staffers more. It also fell below the threshold for reporting requirements for outside income, which starts at $126,000.

Like his former boss, Chakrabarti showed a streak for controversy. He earned a rare, stinging rebuke from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in June for comparing moderate Democrats to segregationists after they voted in favor of a conservative border funding bill that Ocasio-Cortez opposed, USA Today reports.

Chakrabarti also stirred controversy for challenging Pelosi’s reluctance on impeachment and was criticized for accusing Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS), the first Native-American woman elected to Congress, of “enabling a racist system” with her votes on immigration. The House Democratic Caucus responded by dismissing him: “Who is this guy and why is he explicitly singling out a Native American woman of color?”

“People were not happy that he used his Twitter account to comment about members and the bills that he and his boss oppose,” a senior House Democratic staffer told the Post. “There was a series of colliding and cascading grievances.”

Chakrabarti, who played a pioneering role on Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal, will now join nonprofit New Consensus to work on climate change policy — but not without this probe hanging over his head.