Well, social media was set ablaze when Luke Thompson, a political consultant, noticed that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s (D-NY) boyfriend had a congressional email account. Is he on staff? And if he is, doesn’t that constitute an ethics violation? AOC’s staff vociferously denied that this was the case, calling out Thompson for lying, who was briefly suspended from Twitter (via NTK Network): It appears Twitter locked out a user on Friday by the name of Luke Thompson after he pointed out that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) boyfriend, Riley Roberts, has a Congressional email account. Thompson tweeted a screenshot of Riley Roberts’ House email and alleged that Ocasio-Cortez had hired her boyfriend on her congressional staff. The Guardians’ Ben Jacobs tweeted that Thompson’s account has “been locked by Twitter after noting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s boyfriend has a House email address.” . @ltthompso, who tweeted this morning about @aoc 's boyfriend having a House email address, has been locked out of his Twitter account, per screenshot he sent me: pic.twitter.com/VXpN1XVTDf — Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) February 15, 2019 Fox News has more: Rep. 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. […] sked 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. […] 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. […] 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. But Mr. Roberts isn’t AOC’s husband. It’s just a very odd story that produced a rather entertaining the lengthy Twitter threat from Thompson. And there might be evidence that he was paid with taxpayer money for something related to her office. We’ll keep you updated, but while this is some popcorn material, Ocasio-Cortez’s far left wing agenda is much more odious, though let’s say all of this turns out to be true—this is a rather swampy move, huh? Hey @AOC - A friend of mine who works in the House just sent me this screenshot of your staff directory from the internal congressional database. Contrary to your denial, it lists your boyfriend as being on your staff. Care to explain why you appear to be lying? pic.twitter.com/My8ixAJyXC — Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) February 15, 2019 New from a friend inside the House. Seems like more than calendar access to me. Care to revise your statement @AOC? pic.twitter.com/Sr2HAUOkW7 — Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) February 15, 2019 Just going to leave this here. From the Committee on House Administration's IT policy. pic.twitter.com/Kd75nF17pT — Jordan Haverly (@jhaverly) February 15, 2019 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. pic.twitter.com/bvncwzxY53 — Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) February 15, 2019 He's the tall fellow with the beard in the back. You can read all about their romance in this Marie Claire puff piece. https://t.co/Q2CTWRtlGG pic.twitter.com/pAAORhgtYn — Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) February 15, 2019 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 He’s not your spouse. Is he being paid? At what level? It says “staff” not spouse or boyfriend. Furthermore he doesn’t appear to be in any groups and the House doesn’t use Google. Are you giving him access to your official calendar? Why does he have his own email address? — Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) February 15, 2019 I’d also like to know, if he’s not a government employee, in what capacity he’s doing government work. Are you having campaign volunteers handle duties in your official office? — Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) February 15, 2019 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 Ill keep tracking it but if he’s just a boyfriend and not staff why does he need a https://t.co/aCLynmUPVL email address? — Liz Mair (@LizMair) February 15, 2019 Dear @JStein_WaPo - I'm better at your job than you are. pic.twitter.com/dCX130lc7V — Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) February 15, 2019 He's not on staff/not paid. Spouses and partners normally get https://t.co/oqBCENJjNX e-mail addresses for the purpose of getting calendar access. — Saikat Chakrabarti (@saikatc) February 15, 2019 Her Chief of Staff insisted to me that he's not on staff in explicit terms. It must be noted that if he's NOT on staff (as her Chief and she insist), that's actually ANOTHER ethics violation! Because you CAN'T make email accounts for folks not on staff. pic.twitter.com/RBmRpMfuou — Andrew Follett (@AndrewCFollett) February 15, 2019 Again, it doesn't matter if he did that or not. Either way AOC broke ethics rules. If the BF is designated staff, that's unethical for hiring "relatives." If he's not designated staff, that's also unethical because IT protocols were broken! pic.twitter.com/sU0VrBLaP0 — Andrew Follett (@AndrewCFollett) February 15, 2019<doc-sep>Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came under fire Friday after it emerged she has given her boyfriend Riley Roberts a congressional email account. The congressional newcomer was forced to defend her actions on Twitter and insisted it's only so he can look at her calendar. Political consultant Luke Thompson tweeted a picture of his official House email address, which quickly went viral. He tweeted: '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.' But AOC hit back, writing: '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.' Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi performs a ceremonial swearing-in for US House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She was joined by Riley Roberts, sixth from left Political consultant Luke Thompson tweeted a picture of his official House email address But Ocasio-Cortez hit back and insisted it's only so he can look at her calendar Her chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti also posted to Twitter, defending the account WHO IS RILEY ROBERTS? Riley Roberts is the head of marketing at HomeBinder.com, according to Marie Claire. He also works with tech startups. Riley from is Boston, Massachusetts and is reported to have gone to uni there, too. He was pictured at her swearing in, telling the New York Post it was 'a really incredible day, really special'. They lived together in the Bronx before moving to Washington D.C. Advertisement Her chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti also argued the move was normal for a spouse or partner. He wrote: '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. 'Spouses and partners normally get http://mail.house.gov e-mail addresses for the purpose of getting calendar access.' And spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, David O'Boyle, 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.' As news of her boyfriend's email was shared online Jason Chaffetz, former chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told Fox: 'It's totally naive and inappropriate – you wouldn't allow it in most companies, let alone the House of Representatives. There should be real consequences. '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. It should be referred to the ethics committee for further investigation.' Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, remained outspoken on the deal since its announcement in November. Now Amazon blame her rhetoric for foiling their plans It comes on the day Amazon hit-out at Ocasio-Cortez and her Democratic peers for creating an unjust hostile 'environment' that led to the withdrawal of their New York headquarters plan. The online retailer announced on Thursday that they were pulling the plug on their proposal to create a second headquarters in New York's Long-Island City. Speaking out about the withdrawal on Friday, Amazon's head of policy communications, Jodi Seth, pointed blame at Ocasio-Cortez and her anti-Amazon rhetoric. Seth said it wasn't 'any one incident' but months of vitriolic political discourse - perpetuated by the likes of AOC - that ultimately resulted in the company's decision to look elsewhere for a new branch to its Seattle base.<doc-sep>“The nude is supposed to be like the bazooka. You know, like, ‘We’re going to take her down,’" she said, possibly anticipating future provocations. “Dude, you’re all out of bullets, you’re all out of bombs, you’re all out of all this stuff. What have you got left?”<doc-sep>WASHINGTON – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s relationship with boyfriend Riley Roberts is official. Roberts has been granted a government “house.gov” email address so he can access Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional calendar, the 29-year-old congresswoman confirmed Friday. Spouses of members of Congress are afforded privileges, such as a House email address, a congressional pin to bypass security and a House license plate to enter Capitol grounds and enjoy parking privileges, House aides say. While he’s not officially a spouse, Roberts can have access to House email for calendar purposes, according to the office of the Chief Administrative Officer of the House. “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,” said David O’Boyle, a spokesman for the administrative office. While the official email account, commonly reserved for House staff, initially created speculation that Roberts was on the government payroll, Ocasio-Cortez’s office says her boyfriend is not employed by Congress.<doc-sep>
Twitter suspended conservative political consultant Luke Thompson’s account on Friday after he revealed that Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s boyfriend, Riley Roberts, has a government email account. Thompson posted a screenshot of a House directory that showed Roberts listed under “staff,” alongside a House email address for Roberts and the phone number for Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional office. Twitter claimed Thompson violated “rules against posting private information,” even though the information he posted was a government email address and a publicly available phone number. Twitter briefly made Thompson’s tweet not publicly visible before later restoring it. So it seems @ltthompso‘s account has been locked by Twitter after noting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s boyfriend has a House email address pic.twitter.com/JH0ULXfLAl — Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) February 15, 2019 . @ltthompso, who tweeted this morning about @aoc ‘s boyfriend having a House email address, has been locked out of his Twitter account, per screenshot he sent me: pic.twitter.com/VXpN1XVTDf — Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) February 15, 2019 Twitter did not return a request for comment on why Thompson’s account was locked out. He later regained access to his account. Ocasio-Cortez and her chief of staff claimed Roberts isn’t a paid staff member and that the email address only allows him access to the congresswoman’s calendar. “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,” the chief administrative officer of the House told The Daily Caller News Foundation in a phone call. Roberts did not return an email seeking comment. Evie Fordham contributed to this report. Follow Hasson on Twitter @PeterJHasson Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.