On Friday morning, a remarkable screenshot surfaced on Twitter showing that Riley Roberts, the boyfriend of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), appears to have a congressional “staff” email address. A calendar invite lists his name, Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional phone number, and the email address.

Luke Thompson, a podcast host and former staffer for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), posted the photo on Twitter. “While you were having a nice Valentine’s Day, [Ocasio-Cortez] 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.”

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

Various outlets have reported that Riley Roberts, head of marketing at HomeBinding.com, is Ocasio-Cortez’s squeeze. He attended her swearing-in and can be seen on the right side of the photo below.

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

Ocasio-Cortez shot down the insinuation but confirmed that the screenshot showing the email address is legitimate.

“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,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

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,” Thompson shot back. “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?”

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

Ocasio-Cortez did not respond to these questions, nor did she respond to multiple requests for comment from PJ Media.

Hey @AOC, is it your official position that you gave your boyfriend a https://t.co/nFG78493WL email address so you could give him access to your Google calendar? Or is that just your response to the photo? — Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) February 15, 2019

Saikat Chakrabarti, Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, responded, “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.”

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

Thompson found an internal House listing for Riley Roberts.

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

Club for Growth analyst Andrew Follett explained the pickle Ocasio-Cortez is in.

Again, if he's designated staff, that's unethical. If he's not designated staff, that's also unethical. pic.twitter.com/s8JormkaDh — Andrew Follett (@AndrewCFollett) February 15, 2019

Rumors swirled that Ocasio-Cortez tried to get Thompson banned from Twitter.

https://twitter.com/molratty/status/1096446904974618624

Jordan Haverly, director of communications for Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), shared the official policy declaring that “Only U.S. House of Representatives Members, Officers, Employees, Fellows, Interns and Contractors who have received permission under the appropriate Hiring Authority are authorized users of the House’s electronic mail systems and resources.”

https://twitter.com/jhaverly/status/1096424613955993600

In the aftermath, Riley Roberts deleted his LinkedIn profile.

Mr. Roberts has deleted his LinkedIn profile. pic.twitter.com/RUtt4Kbu3F — Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) February 15, 2019

The Washington Post‘s Jeff Stein tweeted that “there’s no evidence” Ocasio-Cortez hired Roberts. Thompson shot back with the photo of Roberts’ name in the House database.

Dear @JStein_WaPo – I'm better at your job than you are. pic.twitter.com/dCX130lc7V — Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) February 15, 2019

Thompson also poked fun at Ocasio-Cortez. “Also, being told to check facts before tweeting nonsense by [Ocasio-Cortez] is just perfection,” he tweeted, mocking her disastrous rollout of the “Green New Deal,” along with many other public snafus.

Also, being told to check facts before tweeting nonsense by @AOC is just perfection. https://t.co/MEJXydkeHT — Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) February 15, 2019

An email address ending in “mail.house.gov” is standard practice for staff in the House of Representatives. Ocasio-Cortez did not explain why her boyfriend has one. While it stands to reason that spouses might get their own email addresses, the official policy Haverly tweeted out suggests otherwise, and after all, Riley Roberts is only her boyfriend.

Follow Tyler O’Neil, the author of this article, on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.