Left-wing fundraising giant ActBlue has reportedly informed Congress it was still accepting foreign gift card donations as recently as September, a significant development in an ongoing investigation into whether U.S. foreign adversaries, such as China, Russia, Iran, or Venezuela, were dumping illicit funds into the campaign coffers of Democrat candidates.
Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), chairman of the U.S. Committee on House Administration, which oversees federal election integrity, told Just the News that ActBlue turned over documents under subpoena showing a substantial change in September to its donor verification policies designed to guard against ill-gotten gains from flowing into political campaigns.
According to Just the News, ActBlue disclosed that it updated the platform's policies on Sept. 9 to "automatically reject donations that use foreign prepaid/gift cards, domestic gift cards, are from high-risk/sanctioned countries, and have the highest level of risk as determined."
That change occurred just three days after Steil introduced the Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations (SHIELD) Act on Sept. 6 to ensure that foreign money stayed out of online political fundraising. Beforehand, Steil said that such donations were not automatically rejected by ActBlue.
"While this is a positive step forward, there is still more work to be done to ensure our campaign finance system is fully protected from fraud and unlawful foreign interference," Steil told Just the News.
ActBlue's records also confirm that the organization was not blocking these "concerning payment methods" in July, "a period when Democrats raised a record number of campaign money before implementing these safeguards," Steil said.
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In response to the bombshell revelations, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said that the U.S. House Administration Committee will continue to investigate ActBlue in the next congressional session.
"This is ILLEGAL," the congressman said, vowing: "Our work here is just getting started."
BREAKING: ActBlue was accepting foreign gift cards until September.
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) December 11, 2024
This is ILLEGAL.
The @HouseAdmin Committee will continue this important investigation into ActBlue next Congress.
Our work here is just getting started. https://t.co/ffDc5I7j4H
Steil announced earlier this fall that his committee is investigating whether four foreign powers—China, Russia, Venezuela, and Iran—used ActBlue as a vehicle to route foreign donations to certain Democrat campaigns.
Steil's committee referred thousands of suspicious donations to state attorneys general across five states, prompting a probe that has now expanded to 19 states.
In addition, Steil and U.S. House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) have requested to see suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed by banks flagging certain monies flowing through Act Blue. Comer recently alerted lawmakers that there could be hundreds of reports to review.
"We must keep working to ensure that no foreign funds were illegally funneled into U.S. political campaigns during this election cycle," Steil said. "It is also critical that we enact lasting reforms to prevent illicit contributions in future election cycles."
Advancing legislation like the SHIELD Act will close "vulnerable loopholes" in the fundraising process and "safeguard the integrity of our campaign finance system," Steil added.
ActBlue has denied any wrongdoing but says it is cooperating with investigators.
In a statement posted on its site, ActBlue claimed it was the victim of "disinformation" and remains committed to complying with the law as well as protecting the privacy of its donors.
"We rigorously protect donors' information by maintaining a robust security program and strict fraud prevention measures—often beyond what is required by law," the statement said. "ActBlue holds itself to the highest legal and ethical standards, and all contributions made through ActBlue are disclosed in full compliance with federal, state, and local laws."
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