House Republicans are alleging that the Democrat fundraising platform ActBlue engaged in a "cover-up" of fraudulent political donations and misled Congress about its security protocols. An investigative report claims the company potentially accepted foreign contributions and concealed evidence from GOP lawmakers.
ActBlue has previously denied any wrongdoing. However, the report cites internal ActBlue documents suggesting the company adopted a "more lenient approach" to fraud prevention in 2024, weakening its policies despite internal assessments indicating an increase in fraudulent contributions. The documents reportedly directed the fraud prevention team to "look for reasons to accept contributions" rather than scrutinize them for fraud indicators, a directive that allegedly occurred even as ActBlue detected numerous fraud campaigns, including those from foreign sources.
Republicans specifically accuse ActBlue of accepting illegal foreign political donations and subsequently hiding this information. The report highlights a letter from ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones to Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., which stated that donations from individuals with addresses outside the U.S. required a passport number for verification. However, Republicans contend this verification only checks for the number of characters in the provided passport number, not its validity, rendering the step ineffective.
Excerpts included in the report appear to show ActBlue supervisors approving donations despite identified "red flags." One memo reportedly praised a donation as a "great accept" despite the donor having an IP address in Hong Kong, noting that "none of their other signals raise any eyebrows." Another communication allegedly shows a supervisor arguing for the acceptance of a foreign contribution because the name, email, IP, billing, and address matched, despite the donor using an Arkansas state code which was flagged as "not great."
Despite these allegations, the report also includes communications from ActBlue employees who believe the company is the target of "bad-faith political attacks." ActBlue has previously stated to Congress that there is "no evidence that foreign donations through online or small-dollar contributions are a problem in U.S. elections."
Multiple ActBlue leaders who have appeared before Congress have invoked the Fifth Amendment in response to questioning. The investigation is being led by Chairman Steil, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.
Democrats have criticized the investigation as an attempt to undermine confidence in U.S. elections. Republicans, however, argue it is an effort to enhance confidence by addressing potential fraud.
