The Office of Congressional Ethics revealed on Monday there is “substantial reason to believe” an outgoing Democratic lawmaker “may have solicited or accepted impermissible gifts associated with her attendance” at the 2021 Met Gala. In a 15-page report on Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s alleged violation, the OCE said that it had obtained evidence suggesting the New York congresswoman had requested a Met Gala invitation in 2016, and that outreach had “continued to impact her invitation” in future years. “While House rules allow members to attend charitable events, Members may only accept unsolicited offers of free attendance,” the report explained. Maloney told investigators she could not recall ever requesting an invitation to the party, and the report confirmed there remains “some confusion” as to why Maloney’s name was crossed off an internal list of government officials to invite that year. The OCE recommended that the House Ethics Committee “further review” the matter. The 76-year-old Maloney, who memorably attended last year’s Met Gala in a gown honoring women’s suffrage, was first elected to congressional office in 1992. She ran for re-election in 2022, but lost to fellow Democratic incumbent Rep. Jerry Nadler in the primary after redistricting pitted them against one another.