The Heritage Foundation has filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for making false claims about Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik during a hearing.
Raichik confronted AOC about the issue after delivering the complaint to her office.
The complaint alleges that Ocasio-Cortez lied about Raichik during a February 8th hearing of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. The congresswoman had claimed that Libs of TikTok had lied in a 2022 tweet that said Boston Children's Hospital is "now offering ‘gender-affirming hysterectomies’ for young girls."
In a video for Boston Children's Hospital uncovered by Libs of TikTok, Dr. Frances Grimstad, an obstetrician-gynecologist, appeared to be directly promoting “gender-affirming hysterectomies” for "transgender" children. Hysterectomies are irreversible and sterilize the patient.
“A gender-affirming hysterectomy is very similar to most hysterectomies that occur,” Grimstad cheerfully stated. “A hysterectomy itself is the removal of the uterus, the cervix, which is the opening of the uterus, and the fallopian tubes, which are attached to the sides of the uterus.” Boston Children’s Hospital (@BostonChildrens) is now offering “gender affirming hysterectomies” for young girls pic.twitter.com/JOH5fFtGJ0
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 11, 2022
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, ignoring the video, asked a former Twitter executive about the above tweet during the hearing.
"Are you aware… that from August 11th to August 16th that account posted false information about Boston Children’s Hospital claiming that they were providing hysterectomies to children?" Ocasio-Cortez asked. "And are you aware that this lie was then circulated by other prominent far-right influences?"
In the nine-page ethics complaint, Heritage argued that the congresswoman "knowingly and intentionally defaming Chaya Raichik, creator of the viral Libs of TikTok account, falsely accusing her of lying and disseminating disinformation."'
"Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s accusation that the tweet contained false information is itself outrightly false on its face," Heritage argued. "Rep. Ocasio-Cortez knowingly made this allegation in bad faith."
The complaint added that Ocasio-Cortez "recklessly blamed Ms. Raichik and her tweet for the actions of other people reacting to Boston Children’s Hospital’s video, claiming that it fueled threats and harassment towards the hospital and its staff and incited violence against ‘trans and LGBT people.’"
The complaint asks the Office of Congressional Ethics to remind lawmakers that they have a duty not to make false accusations, have the claims about Libs of TikTok stricken from the record, and force Ocasio-Cortez to apologize to Raichik.
Raichik went to Ocasio-Cortez's office to deliver the complaint. A staff member took the document, but the congresswoman was not there.
However, Raichik ran into Ocasio-Cortez in another part of the Capitol. She appeared to ask for a photo with the congresswoman before explaining that she had served her with an ethics complaint. BREAKING: I served @AOC with an ethics complaint after she lied about me in a committee hearing. AOC wasn’t in her office but then I bumped into her as I was leaving the Capitol!
Watch what happens: pic.twitter.com/Lhrrzo1w8Q
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 30, 2023
"I just delivered an ethics complaint to your office because you lied about me in a committee hearing," Raichik said.
Realizing who she was standing next to, Ocasio-Cortez said, "you’re actually super transphobic and I never want to share a space with you," before walking away.
