ActBlue is Democrats’ main fundraising platform. Like the GOP’s WinRed platform, it helps politicians and the GOP raise money and handles most compliance paperwork, payment processing, and other concerns. It may have laundered foreign Democratic money.
An extremely underreported report issued by the Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil in mid-December 2024, less than two months ago, followed a similarly underreported summer and fall 2024 investigation into ActBlue over allegations it was laundering donations.
ActBlue was accused of not vetting large foreign donations, which could be a crime. According to his office, Congressman Steil requested “documents related to ActBlue’s donor verification policies and the potential for foreign actors to use the platform to launder illicit money into U.S. political campaigns.”
It was discovered that ActBlue was processing payments without credit card CVV numbers, which could indicate international and illicit donations. As his office stated, “ActBlue was accepting political contributions without a card verification value (CVV), Chairman Steil sent a letter demanding answers on ActBlue’s practices, questioning if they are complying with federal campaign finance laws and preventing foreign and illegal contributions.”
In October 2024, Rep. Steil declared, “We cannot allow foreign actors to influence our elections through campaign financing. The Committee found that foreign actors may be exploiting ActBlue’s security flaws.
He continued, “We are requesting records and communications related to ActBlue’s donor security and verification policies to prevent foreign money laundering. As Chairman, preventing foreign intervention in U.S. elections is my top concern, and this next step in our inquiry is crucial.”
He added, “As the Committee continues to develop legislation to close loopholes in our campaign finance system and prevent foreign actors from influencing U.S. federal elections, we are issuing this subpoena to better inform our efforts to safeguard our nation’s elections.”
