After analyzing more than 200 million political contributions involving ActBlue, referrals for further investigation were made to five states. The congressional investigation found potential “criminal activity” and forwarded the information to five state attorneys general for review.
The review focused on donation reports from ActBlue, an online Democratic fundraising platform, submitted to the Federal Election Commission. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Administration Committee, stated that the investigation looked into potential unlawful exploitation of unwitting ‘straw donors’ whose identities may have been used to channel illicit funds into campaigns in various states.
In a letter dated Sept. 18, Steil informed the attorneys general about the anomalies discovered in donor profiles, indicating suspicious activities that warrant further scrutiny. One key issue highlighted was ActBlue’s lack of a card verification value (CVV), making it susceptible to foreign and illegal contributions.
ActBlue, in response to these allegations, denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the investigation as a partisan political attack aimed at undermining the power of Democratic and progressive small-dollar donors. However, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton initiated an investigation into ActBlue in December 2023, alleging potential fraud.
Whistleblowers raised concerns about anomalies in Federal Election Commission donor records, leading to a comprehensive data analysis spanning 14 years. The investigation compared donation patterns with consumer data, voter rolls, and political profiling databases to identify suspicious trends.
Findings included disproportionately large donations relative to a person’s net worth, uncharacteristic donations from party-affiliated voters supporting opposing candidates, and unusually frequent donations from the elderly and first-time donors. This information was shared with state law enforcement agencies due to the potential criminal activity surrounding the political contributions.
Steil has also introduced HR 9488, a bill that proposes new procedures and safeguards for online donations to U.S. political committees. Similar concerns were raised by O’Keefe Media Group in March 2023 regarding senior citizens denying making donations attributed to them in Federal Election Commission records.
Furthermore, the media group discovered similar anomalies in data from WinRed, a Republican fundraising platform comparable to ActBlue. While the House Administration Committee has not announced an investigation into WinRed, the issue of fraudulent contributions in political fundraising remains a significant concern.
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