By Staff Reporter |
Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03) is romantically involved with a 24-year-old Democratic influencer under investigation by her committee.
Ansari is dating Jack Cocchiarella, a progressive political commentator with more than two million followers across YouTube, X, Instagram, and TikTok. Cocchiarella turned 24 last Friday, and Ansari is 34.
TMZ was first to publish their report as an exclusive, reportedly minutes after the deadline given by another reporter, Juliegrace Brufke of Sources Say News.
According to TMZ, Ansari met Cocchiarella for an interview last spring. Cocchiarella is based in Washington, D.C., and graduated from Columbia University last year.
Ansari told TMZ that her personal relationships have no bearing on her standing as an elected official, and that other political issues are of far greater importance.
“I’m not commenting on my personal life, nor is it anyone’s business,” said Ansari. “Right now, ICE is terrorizing communities across the country with zero accountability, and Trump’s reckless war in Iran continues raging on. I’m focused on helping to flip the House so we can pass meaningful legislation — that’s what we should all be focused on.”
However, Ansari’s relationship with Cocchiarella does have some overlap with congressional affairs.
Last November, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Oversight Committee), on which Ansari sits, opened up an investigation into Chorus, a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund which pays progressive content creators for political posts and on whose council Cocchiarella sat until recently.
Following reports of Cocchiarella’s relationship with Ansari, his profile page and inclusion on the creator council have been removed.
Chorus is alleged to have circumvented federal campaign finance disclosure requirements by paying content creators up to $8,000 per month to further Democratic messaging online in secret.
Chorus was established in the weeks following Kamala Harris’ loss to President Donald Trump in the November 2024 election. The New York Times cited Chorus charter members at length about Democratic efforts to match right-wing content creators that carried Trump to a delayed second-term victory.
Key organizers behind Chorus included Stuart Perelmuter, a Democratic operative paid by the Harris campaign; Josh Cook, former President Barack Obama’s digital strategist; Brian Tyler Cohen, another top YouTube influencer.
Chorus struggled to pull financial backing in its first few months of existence; then a report came out about these struggles last April, and the Sixteen Thirty Fund became the organization’s sponsor that same month.
In March, the Oversight Committee submitted a letter to those behind Chorus to address “a disturbing pattern of activity” to evade transparency about the Chorus project following the committee launching its investigation.
In May, the committee subpoenaed the Sixteen Thirty Fund to compel production of documents concerning Chorus.
So far, the committee’s investigation has found that Chorus-paid influencers created content advocating for candidates, ballot initiatives, and political parties.
Chorus has denied paying creators to support or oppose candidates.
The committee has not held a hearing on the investigation.
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