House GOP Investigators Vow to Continue ActBlue Probe

House Republican investigators have indicated their probe into ActBlue, a prominent Democratic fundraising platform, is far from over, following a report that raised questions about the company's handling of foreign donations. The investigation is focusing on whether ActBlue has accepted illegal foreign contributions and provided inaccurate information to Congress.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., stated that the investigation will continue, with expectations of further documents and testimony in the coming weeks. He criticized Democrats, suggesting they are "the party of fraud," citing issues with both alleged taxpayer dollar theft and foreign donations through ActBlue.

The focus on ActBlue intensified following findings that suggest employees may have approved donations despite concerns about their origins. ActBlue, however, maintains its innocence and has indicated no plans to return donations received during the period in question.

Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., expressed concerns about ActBlue's fraud prevention practices, particularly its "passport verification process" which he described as not verifying entries against any government database. Steil indicated that "all options are on the table" to uncover the full details of ActBlue's operations.

Multiple House committees have been involved in the investigation. The House Judiciary Committee confirmed it would pursue additional depositions as part of its "aggressive oversight of ActBlue."

Transcripts released by the Judiciary Committee revealed that ten ActBlue employees and board members invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during closed-door depositions. This includes co-founder Matt DeBergalis. ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones had previously invoked the Fifth Amendment during a public hearing.

A letter from Wallace-Jones to Steil had stated that donations from individuals outside the U.S. required a passport number for verification. However, the Republican report alleged that this verification process only confirmed the length of the entered number, not its validity, rendering the step ineffective.

The report also included excerpts that appear to show ActBlue supervisors approving donations despite identified "red flags." One memo cited a donation as a "great accept" while noting the donor sometimes had an IP address in Hong Kong. Another communication suggested a denied contribution "should have been accepted" despite being a foreign donation, because the name, email, and IP/billing information matched, and previous contributions had been successful.

In one instance, a supervisor reportedly argued to give a donor the "benefit of the doubt" despite their activity raising numerous alarms. Another employee allegedly noted that a donor using a Missouri billing address showed "all signs point to this person being from Canada," but that X, formerly Twitter, was used to confirm their identity.

Despite these findings, the report also included communications from ActBlue employees who believe the company is "the target of bad-faith political attacks." ActBlue has previously asserted that there is "no evidence that foreign donations through online or small-dollar contributions are a problem in U.S. elections."

The allegations have prompted calls from Republicans for Democrats to return donations made through ActBlue. A spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee urged House Democrats to "cut ties with ActBlue and return any illegal contributions."

When asked if ActBlue would return any donations, the company referred to a statement asserting that Republicans are refusing to move on after the release of a third-party forensic analysis that they claim undermined the central accusations. ActBlue characterized the investigation as a "political stunt" aimed at silencing organizations that challenge the Republican agenda.