Foreign interference and illegal contributions on ActBlue online donation platform?

ActBlue is a popular non-profit American fundraising platform for Democratic candidates. The organization made headlines this past summer when it announced that Vice President Kamala Harris received nearly $50 million through the ActBlue outlet days after President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 election. Republican officials are now targeting the website, which has raised more than $18 billion since 2004, over allegations of illegal campaign donations and foreign interference.

Republicans Eye ActBlue

Following a year-long investigation into ActBlue, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton submitted a petition to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Paxton, a Republican, demanded new regulations to stop straw donations from being made on online political fundraising platforms like ActBlue. He and his team determined that “bad actors” were illegally interfering in US elections by “disguising political donations.” They found that foreign contributions or donations that exceeded legal limits may have been “unlawfully funneled to political campaigns.” Paxton urged the FEC to begin a rulemaking process “to secure our elections” from unscrupulous individuals who are “exploiting these individuals.

Based on what the Office of the Attorney General’s investigation uncovered, Paxton also filed a criminal referral to the Department of Justice. In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Paxton stated that the probe came across “alarming evidence” revealing that “anonymous actors are systematically making contributions through ActBlue’s platform in the name of other people.” The letter listed wire fraud, identity theft, and making contributions in the name of another as potential criminal conduct.

“My investigation uncovered evidence showing that bad actors are likely using ActBlue’s platform to make illegal campaign contributions. It is illegal to engage in election fraud, and it is illegal to obscure one’s identity to flout election rules,” Paxton said on social media platform X. “The Department of Justice must take immediate action to prevent illegal conduct in our elections.”

ActBlue has come under fire from a chorus of Republican lawmakers over the past year.

Committee on House Administration (CHA) Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI)and Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Ranking Member Ron Johnson (R-WI) penned letters to the Treasury, the FBI, and the Director of National Intelligence requesting classified briefings on possible foreign election interference through the digital vessel.

“CHA has been investigating claims that foreign actors, primarily from Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and China, may be using ActBlue to launder illicit money into U.S. political campaigns,” the letter stated. “The investigation has indicated that these actors may be exploiting existing U.S. donors by making straw donations without their knowledge.”

In April 2023, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) requested information from the FEC about the entity’s “schemes to garner illegal campaign donations” and reports regarding unsuspecting individuals, including senior citizens, who “purportedly donated to ActBlue thousands of times a year” and “had no idea that their names and addresses were being used to give thousands of dollars in political donations, with most of these ‘donations’ going to ActBlue.”

In September, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) alleged in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that ActBlue was being utilized to skirt campaign finance laws.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) recently claimed that there is an abundance of evidence indicating that “illicit overseas donors” are exploiting the platform to take advantage of “campaign finance loopholes and make donations in the names of people without their knowledge.”

20-Year Anniversary

In June, ActBlue celebrated its 20th anniversary in operation, looking back at how grassroots supporters became an “untapped superpower for campaigns.” The organization stated in a press release that it has introduced various new features over the years, from heightened security measures to single-click donations. For Democrats seeking public office, ActBlue has been a game-changer, transforming how they raise money for their campaigns. But while it has been a vestibule for small-dollar donors to enter the belly of the Leviathan, GOP officials claim it could also be a tool exploited by illicit actors.