A top Republican lawmaker is warning that ActBlue, the primary online fundraising platform for Democrats, could face criminal charges as a congressional investigation into foreign donations continues.
House Committee on Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital that the ongoing investigation into ActBlue would proceed and indicated that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would likely take action if prosecutors find evidence of a crime.
"We know that ActBlue did not have the fraud prevention standards in place that were necessary to prevent foreign funds from finding their way, through the ActBlue platform, into Democratic campaigns and Democratic causes," Steil stated. "I'm of the belief that we ultimately need to continue this investigation."
Steil suggested that if federal prosecutors believe a crime can be proven, the DOJ would move forward with charges. "And then, separate of that, the United States Department of Justice will make a decision as to whether or not they believe that there was a crime committed. And if they can prove that in court, my belief would be that the Department of Justice would move forward."
Steil's committee, along with the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, has been examining allegations that ActBlue's verification standards have allowed foreign money to enter American elections. ActBlue has consistently denied any wrongdoing, characterizing the probe as a partisan effort. The platform has implemented new donor verification measures, including a passport verification system, amid the investigation.
"Our investigation is about getting the facts to the American people, and in large part, putting ourselves in a position to update our campaign finance laws for the digital era," Steil said. "So many of our campaign finance laws were written for a previous time. It is absolutely essential that we're updating our laws to actually address the fact that we are in a campaign finance digital era."
An investigation into ActBlue was initially directed by former President Donald Trump in April 2025, tasking then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. The current status of that DOJ probe remains unclear, and Fox News Digital has reached out to the DOJ for an update.
ActBlue, widely used by Democratic campaigns, announced in 2025 that it had paused donations from individuals residing abroad. Despite these changes, a report released earlier this month, first reported by Fox News Digital, suggested that employees may have approved donations despite questions about their origins. A key concern for Republicans has been ActBlue's passport number verification process, which reportedly only checked for the correct number of characters rather than validating the code itself.
ActBlue's legal representatives stated in a letter to House investigators that the new program "adds passport-based identity verification as a further enhancement to ActBlue’s multi-layered approach to fraud and foreign-contribution prevention." Steil commented at the time that this update "only confirms what we've been saying: ActBlue failed to verify the citizenship of individuals who made donations from abroad."
Ten individuals from ActBlue, including executives and founders, have invoked the Fifth Amendment when questioned by GOP-led committees regarding the foreign donation allegations. The Texas Attorney General has also filed a lawsuit against ActBlue, alleging fraudulent and foreign donations.