Casey Harper (Center Square)
Act Blue, the Democratic Party’s primary donation processing service, is under scrutiny amid concerns that the service is being used to circumvent campaign finance laws.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee launched the investigation in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, citing “reports of potentially fraudulent and illegal financial activity.”
Related: Trump Polls Better in 6 of 7 Key States than 2020
The lawmakers asked Yellen for copies of the suspicious financial activity report related to ActBlue, which batch-processes online donations to Democratic candidates.
at letter:
Recent reports have raised the specter of fraud and campaign finance law evasion by individuals using online donation platforms, including ActBlue in particular. For example, ActBlue has been criticized for failing to implement standard procedures to prevent identity theft and fraud, such as requiring card verification values (CVVs) to process online transactions. ActBlue is also under investigation by several state officials in connection with donations allegedly made fraudulently through its platform without the knowledge of the reported donors. In Virginia, a report on donation activity facilitated through the ActBlue platform included “incidents where a single donor made tens of thousands of separate donations worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said in August that he was investigating reports of ActBlue misuse after reports emerged of “dummy” accounts allegedly used to make thousands of donations by criminal organizations.
Making donations in someone else’s name is illegal and can be used to evade oversight or limit giving.
“These bad actors may include aliens who are not lawfully admitted to the country for permanent residence and who are prohibited by law from making contributions to campaigns or political parties,” the letter added.
RELATED: Retired Border Patrol Captain Ordered Not to Report Border Crossers with Terrorism Links
Since allegations of Russian interference and voter fraud in recent federal elections have grown, there has been increased oversight and scrutiny of potential foreign interference in U.S. elections from both Republicans and Democrats.
Act Blue did not respond to a request for comment.
“We cannot tolerate shady practices, foreign interference, and blatant abuse of our campaign finance laws,” Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-Y., wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The American people have a right to know who is really behind these donations. ActBlue has been funneling questionable donations to Democratic campaigns for far too long, raising serious concerns about fraud and illegal contributions…”
Jointly published with permission At Center Square.
