ActBlue serves as the primary platform utilized by Democrats for political fundraising. Similar to the GOP’s WinRed platform, it offers a mechanism for legislators and the GOP as a whole to request and secure donations, while also providing value by managing the majority of compliance documentation, payment processing, and related matters. Additionally, it seems to have been involved in laundering donations from foreign sources for the Democrats.
This was revealed by Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil in a report that received minimal coverage, which was released by his office in mid-December 2024, just under two months ago, following a similarly underreported investigation during the summer and fall of 2024 regarding ActBlue and allegations of donation laundering.
The fundamental issue, which could constitute a crime, is that ActBlue was accused of failing to filter out substantial donations from foreign individuals and entities. In pursuit of clarity on this matter, Congressman Steil requested, as stated by his office, “documents related to ActBlue’s donor verification policies and the potential for foreign actors to exploit the platform to launder illicit funds into U.S. political campaigns.”
The indication of this issue was that ActBlue was processing donations that did not require the entry of the CVV number from credit cards, which could imply that foreign and illegal contributions were being accepted. As articulated by his office: “ActBlue was receiving political contributions without a card verification value (CVV). Chairman Steil sent a letter demanding clarification on ActBlue’s practices, questioning whether they are adhering to federal campaign finance regulations and preventing foreign and illegal contributions.”]} }}
In October 2024, Rep. Steil commented on the issue, stating, “We cannot permit foreign entities to sway our elections through campaign financing. The Committee’s investigation revealed that foreign actors may exploit ActBlue’s insufficient security measures.”
He further stated, “To guarantee that foreign funds are not being laundered via ActBlue, we are requesting a collection of documents and communications concerning their donor security and verification protocols. Preventing foreign interference in U.S. elections has been my primary focus as Chairman, and this subsequent phase of our investigation is vital to achieving that objective.”
In his subpoena, he wrote, “As the Committee progresses in formulating legislation to close loopholes in our campaign finance system and avert foreign actors from impacting U.S. federal elections, we are issuing this subpoena to enhance our efforts to protect our nation’s elections.”
He subsequently published his findings from the subpoena. The report indicated that it was only in September 2024 that the platform began to reject more donations, including foreign prepaid gift cards and other possible methods of laundering money into Democratic campaigns.
As stated by his office, “Today, Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil (WI-01) announced the results of his subpoena of ActBlue, a significant Democratic fundraising platform. The documents provided revealed that as of September 2024, ActBlue has enacted revised policies to ‘automatically reject donations that utilize foreign prepaid/gift cards, domestic gift cards, originate from high-risk/sanctioned countries, and possess the highest level of risk as determined’ by its solution provider, Sift.” This change in September was prompted by Rep. Steil’s advancement of the SHEILD Act through Congress, which, among other provisions, prohibited donations via prepaid cards.
Steil, in his remarks on the issue, stated that although it is commendable that ActBlue has begun to comply, the troubling activities took place months earlier. He remarked, “While this is a positive advancement, there remains additional work necessary to guarantee that our campaign finance system is entirely safeguarded against fraud and illegal foreign interference. The documents submitted to the Committee also verify that ActBlue continued to accept these troubling payment methods in July, a time when Democrats amassed a record amount of campaign funds prior to the implementation of these protective measures.
He further stated, “As Chairman, I am dedicated to preventing foreign funding in our elections and ensuring transparency for the American populace. We must persist in our efforts to confirm that no foreign funds were unlawfully funneled into U.S. political campaigns during this election cycle. It is also essential that we establish enduring reforms to avert illicit contributions in future election cycles. Promoting legislation such as the SHIELD Act will permanently eliminate these vulnerable loopholes and protect the integrity of our campaign finance system.”
Later in December, while posting on X regarding the issue, Steil mentioned, “My investigation has uncovered that ActBlue was not automatically rejecting suspicious donations on the platform until September. @RepJamesComer and I have urged @USTreasury to examine ActBlue’s SARs. The administration continues to obstruct our request. This is unacceptable.” You can view Steil’s comments on the issue in Congress here: