House Republican committee chairmen have requested records from the law firm Covington & Burling, which formerly represented ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform. The lawmakers are investigating allegations that ActBlue facilitated the acceptance of foreign donations into U.S. elections, a violation of federal law.
In a letter sent Thursday to Covington & Burling partner Dana Remus, the chairmen of the House Administration, Judiciary, and Oversight Committees asked for documents and communications related to the "potential or actual use of ActBlue to make fraudulent or illegal political contributions." Remus' firm was reportedly fired by ActBlue after issuing a memo in early 2025 warning that the platform's fraud standards could lead to the acceptance of foreign contributions. The letter stated that ActBlue "reportedly 'terminated' its relationship with you and smeared you publicly" after the firm delivered these warnings.
Federal law prohibits non-citizens from donating to election campaigns. The Republican committees stated that "After you delivered these warnings, ActBlue reportedly ‘terminated’ its relationship with you and smeared you publicly." They are seeking voluntary cooperation from Covington & Burling due to ActBlue's alleged "continued obstruction of this investigation."
Records from Remus' firm have been requested by July 9. The committees have also threatened contempt proceedings against ActBlue if the platform does not respond to its own records requests.
A spokesperson for Covington & Burling told The Post that the firm had received the letter and was reviewing it. ActBlue, meanwhile, asserted that it "has and will continue to fulfill its legal obligations" and has produced "a large volume of relevant materials" to the committees. However, the platform accused the committees of "an abuse of their oversight authority by demanding disclosure of certain confidential attorney client privileged documents."
ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones invoked the Fifth Amendment on June 10 during a public hearing with the House Administration Committee when questioned about whether foreign donations had been funneled to Democratic campaigns in 2024. She stated that invoking the Fifth Amendment "is not an admission — or even an insinuation — of guilt." Wallace-Jones also accused the GOP chairmen of "abusing their power to target ActBlue" and questioned the "blatant hypocrisy" of the investigation, noting the exclusion of the Republican fundraising platform WinRed from the hearing.
According to The New York Times, another memo from Covington & Burling indicated that Wallace-Jones may have made "false or misleading" statements to the Republican committees regarding ActBlue's fraud vetting processes. ActBlue has facilitated fundraising for Democratic campaigns and causes since its founding in 2004, raising more than $19 billion, including nearly $2 billion for Democrats during the 2024 election cycle. Internal records obtained by The Post last year suggested that ActBlue had made its fraud standards "more lenient" during that campaign cycle.