One of the most ardent progressive Democrats in Congress is now the subject of a new probe.
After the conservative Coolidge-Reagan Foundation filed a complaint, the Federal Election Commission formally began investigating Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) on April 2. The complaint, which was filed on March 26, focuses on questionable contributions made to Crockett’s 2024 reelection campaign via ActBlue, a well-known fundraising tool for the Democratic Party.
“The respondents will be notified of this complaint within five business days,” the FEC wrote in the letter to the charity. “You will be informed as soon as the Federal Election Commission (FEC) takes final action on your client’s complaint,” the letter, which was sent by Assistant General Counsel Wanda D. Brown of the FEC, continues. Please send any more information you learn about this case to the Office of the General Counsel. Dan Backer, a lawyer for the Coolidge-Reagan Foundation in Washington, received that letter.
“The FEC opened an investigation,” Backer told The Daily Signal. They are looking into it, but there is a process.
The main target of the complaint is Randy Best, a 73-year-old Texas citizen who reportedly donated $595 in 53 different ways to Crockett’s campaign via ActBlue. Best’s wife, however, denied any knowledge of the donations in a video that was shared by Sholdon Daniels, Crockett’s possible opponent in 2026. This has sparked worries that Best and perhaps others never did make the contributions that were credited to them.
In total, ActBlue has contributed almost $870,000 to Crockett’s campaign, the Coolidge-Reagan Foundation filed.
According to the complaint, Rep. Crockett has received over $870,000 in additional donations through ActBlue through Respondent Jasmine for US, her major campaign organization. It is unknown how many of these transactions are likewise fraudulent, carried out in the names of gullible innocent parties who did not supply the money.
Although Crockett is not the only Democrat to use the ActBlue platform, congressional Republicans and a number of state attorneys general with Republican leadership have begun to take notice of the problem. Examples of elderly Americans who were purportedly uninformed that donations were being made in their names have been mentioned in earlier inquiries and reports.
Rep. Crockett and other Democrats may legitimately argue that “we didn’t solicit those donations, they all came in from ActBlue,” according to Backer, who spoke to The Daily Signal. However, that would be deliberate blindness.
“The issue is that the campaign committee treasurer is legally in charge of due diligence,” he continued. We have complete faith in ActBlue, the treasurer would say. However, both federal and state officials have been looking into ActBlue. A year ago, that excuse might have been valid.
Although the FEC usually extends its investigations by 30 to 60 days, Crockett currently has 15 days to address the accusations. Media questions on the issue were not answered by ActBlue, Crockett’s campaign, or her congressional office.
ActBlue has described the mounting accusations as partisan in origin and has repeatedly insisted that it complies with all relevant campaign financing regulations.
