A new congressional report is raising questions about whether ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s dominant online fundraising platform, adequately protected American elections from fraudulent and potentially illegal foreign contributions. Republican-led House committees allege that ActBlue weakened fraud safeguards despite evidence of attempted fraud and later withheld relevant information from congressional investigators. ActBlue strongly denies the allegations.

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From Just the News:

The report itself was first shared with Fox News, which highlighted what the panel deemed a lax approach to fraud prevention. Republicans notably accused the platform of accepting foreign donations and of a “cover-up” of those transactions.

“The Committees’ oversight has found that ActBlue, in its own words, decided to take ‘a more lenient approach’ to fraud prevention in 2024, weakening its fraud-prevention policies at least twice even though internal assessments showed that these changes would result in a measurable increase in fraudulent contributions,” the report stated.

The platform is the primary fundraising vehicle for Democratic candidates and left-wing causes.

The September 16 report is the third interim report resulting from a joint investigation by the House Judiciary, Administration, and Oversight and Government Reform committees. Investigators allege that one ActBlue procedure intended to verify U.S. citizenship for contributors using foreign addresses checked whether a purported passport number contained the correct number of characters but did not verify the number against government records. The committees also allege that fraud-prevention personnel were instructed to give donors “the benefit of the doubt” when evaluating suspicious transactions.

The committees further contend that ActBlue failed to initially provide Congress with documents relevant to their investigation. According to the congressional report, subsequent reporting revealed internal materials—including an employee resignation letter and company messages—that investigators said had not previously been produced. The committees also cite concerns reportedly raised by ActBlue’s former outside attorneys about the organization’s handling of foreign contributions and representations to Congress.

ActBlue disputes the committees’ account. The organization says an independent analysis conducted by FTI Consulting found that contributions associated with foreign addresses represented a tiny fraction of its overall 2023 donations and that its procedures overwhelmingly identified U.S. citizenship for those contributors. ActBlue has characterized the congressional investigation as politically motivated and maintains that it did not mislead Congress.

The investigation has also included congressional testimony from ActBlue officials. CEO Regina Wallace-Jones invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a June congressional appearance, and other ActBlue personnel have also invoked the Fifth Amendment during the investigation. Exercising that constitutional right does not itself establish wrongdoing.

Foreign nationals are prohibited from making contributions in connection with U.S. elections, making effective safeguards against foreign political money an important part of protecting the integrity of the electoral process. The allegations surrounding ActBlue remain disputed, but Congress’s investigation raises significant questions about how online fundraising platforms verify donors in an era when enormous sums can move digitally into political campaigns. Let’s pray that the truth is fully uncovered, that wrongdoing is exposed wherever it exists, and that those responsible for safeguarding America’s elections act with integrity and transparency.

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(Excerpt from Just the News. Photo Credit: United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform)