House Probe Into ActBlue Heading to Trump’s Justice Department

House Republicans investigating Democratic fundraiser ActBlue over alleged foreign contributions to U.S. political campaigns, raising concerns about election integrity.

At a Glance

House Administration Committee, led by Rep. Bryan Steil, is probing ActBlue’s security measures.
ActBlue allegedly accepted donations via foreign prepaid/gift cards until July.
Concerns raised about potential exploitation by countries like Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and China.
Investigation findings to be submitted to the upcoming Trump Justice Department.
ActBlue has updated its donor verification system and claims full compliance with inquiries.

House Republicans Initiate Probe into ActBlue

The House Administration Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Brian Steil, has launched a comprehensive investigation into ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s largest fundraising platform. The probe aims to examine allegations that ActBlue’s security measures were insufficient in preventing unlawful foreign contributions to U.S. political campaigns. This investigation has gained significant traction, with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson calling for expanded inquiries into the matter.

The committee’s investigation has yielded concerning findings. Documents obtained through a subpoena reveal that ActBlue was accepting donations via “foreign prepaid/gift cards” until as recently as July. This revelation has sparked serious concerns about the platform’s ability to prevent foreign interference in U.S. elections.

This isn’t news to us—we’ve been investigating ActBlue fraud for years.

Illegal donations threaten election integrity. The work to expose the truth continues… https://t.co/slcpfROnUA pic.twitter.com/49gWup4Em0

— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) December 11, 2024

Security Lapses and Potential Foreign Interference

House investigators claim that ActBlue may have accepted fraudulent donations due to inadequate security measures. The platform only recently began automatically rejecting high-risk gift card donations, including those from foreign sources. Additionally, it was discovered that ActBlue previously accepted some credit card donations without requiring a CVV code, a standard security measure in online transactions.

These security lapses have raised alarms about the potential for illegal straw donations from foreign entities. In October, Chairman Steil and Senator Ron Johnson expressed concerns to high-ranking government officials about possible foreign donations from countries such as Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and China through ActBlue. The lawmakers have requested access to Suspicious Activity Reports related to transactions through the platform as part of anti-money-laundering efforts.

ActBlue’s Response and Updated Policies

In response to the mounting scrutiny, ActBlue has taken steps to address the concerns raised by the investigation. The platform updated its policies by September 9 to reject donations from foreign prepaid/gift cards, domestic gift cards, high-risk/sanctioned countries, and those flagged by its AI fraud platform. ActBlue officials defend their security measures, stating that they include verification steps for foreign donations.

“Our approach is multilayered, with checks and confirmations occurring throughout the donation process to verify donors and donor information. These measures, which include compliance measures, technological tools, and manual reviews, help to ensure the identity of donors, root out potential foreign contributions, and protect donors from financial fraud.” – ActBlue President Regina Wallace-Jones

Despite these assurances, House Republicans argue that the previous lack of security allowed for illegal straw donations from foreigners. The investigation has uncovered thousands of potentially fraudulent donations across 19 states, prompting further scrutiny from the Treasury Department.

Looking Ahead: Potential Consequences and Legislative Action

As the investigation continues, House Administration Committee Chairman Brian Steil has announced plans to refer the findings to the incoming Trump Justice Department. Steil anticipates that the new Attorney General, Pam Bondi, will be willing to investigate ActBlue for allegedly failing to prevent illegal foreign donations to U.S. political campaigns.

“Once Pam Bondi comes in as attorney general under the Trump administration, we then have a partner at the United States Department of Justice to look at this, to do the investigation into bad actors, and to hold anyone who is engaged in this activity accountable.” – Brian Steil

In response to the investigation’s findings, legislation has been introduced by Mr. Steil to ban donations without a CVV number and billing address, and to prohibit prepaid card donations and aiding donations in another’s name. These measures aim to strengthen the integrity of the campaign finance system and prevent future instances of potential foreign interference.