Contractors for Dem fundraiser ActBlue summoned to Congress amid fraud probe
Contractors for the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue have been summoned to appear before Congress amid a sweeping probe into potentially fraudulent — and even foreign-sourced — donations during the 2024 election, according to a pair of letters exclusively obtained by The Post.
The House Oversight, Judiciary and Administration Committees fired off letters to two employees of the AI-powered fraud prevention software firm Sift who worked with ActBlue — and reportedly know 'critical' information about how the lead Dem funding portal adopted a 'more lenient' standard for suspicious donations.
'The Committees are concerned that ActBlue has maintained poor anti-fraud practices that may have allowed bad actors to make fraudulent political donations, including from foreign sources,' wrote Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Administration Chairman Bryan Steil (R-Wis.).
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4 'The Committees are concerned that ActBlue has maintained poor anti-fraud practices that may have allowed bad actors to make fraudulent political donations, including from foreign sources,' wrote Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Bonnie Cash/UPI/Shutterstock
The letters were addressed to Sift's director of customer success and senior customer success manager.
'ActBlue is a safe and secure fundraising platform, trusted by donors for more than 20 years – that's how we've become a vital part of American democracy,' a spokeswoman for the platform said in a statement responding to the letter.
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'This continued targeting of ActBlue and our partners by MAGA Republicans needs to be seen for what it is: Donald Trump's latest front in his campaign to stamp out all political, electoral and ideological opposition.'
4 House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) co-authored the letters to Sift's director of customer success and senior customer success manager.
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Reps for the fundraising platform did not respond to a follow-up question about whether CEO Regina Wallace-Jones was still employed, following several resignations by senior officials in late February.
The demands come after President Trump signed an executive order last Thursday authorizing Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate illicit 'straw donors' or foreign funding in federal elections — in a memo that cited allegations of ActBlue allowing 'dummy' accounts to contribute to Democratic causes.
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Bondi is expected to whip up a report in the next 180 days on the matter, the memo noted.
4 CEO Regina Wallace-Jones was apparently employed as of earlier this month — despite several resignations by senior officials in late February.
Regina Wallace-Jones/Facebook
ActBlue approved the relaxed standards for fraud during both former President Joe Biden's and subsequently Vice President Kamala Harris' bid to keep the White House, internal records previously obtained by The Post show.
But hundreds of dubious contributions — including ones from 'foreign IP' addresses and others from donors of the opposite party — have been a cause of concern to the congressional investigators.
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'At best, ActBlue's conduct displays a profound disrespect for the principle that only Americans should decide American elections,' the GOP committee staff declared in an interim report on the funding fiasco earlier this month.
4 Staffers for House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) said in an interim report on the funding fiasco earlier this month that ActBlue's fraud standards' change may run afoul of federal election laws.
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'At worst, it may violate the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA), which states that persons who 'knowingly accept a contribution made by one person in the name of another person' may face criminal liability.'
The lefty fundraising powerhouse didn't require a card verification value (CVV) for debit, credit or prepaid gift card transactions until 2024 — and midway through the election year, ActBlue employees were instructed to 'look for reasons to accept contributions.'
Both Trump and the House Republicans have maintained that their probes are consistent with GOP campaign pledges to secure America's elections.
ActBlue has overseen $16 billion in contributions to Democratic campaigns and causes since 2004 — and helped boost Harris with $46.7 million in the days after Biden bowed out of the 2024 race.
The GOP chairs asked for the two Sift employees to schedule transcribed interviews with the House Judiciary panel by May 13.
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