Trump targets Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue with memorandum
The Republican president is taking aim at a Democratic fundraising platform, issuing a presidential memorandum to crack down on supposed foreign contributions to elections, an unsubstantiated claim from the right..
Donald Trump announced the memo on Thursday, directing the attorney general to investigate, and report to the president, 'concerning allegations regarding the use of online fundraising platforms to make 'straw' or 'dummy' contributions and to make foreign contributions to US political candidates and committees, all of which break the law'.
ActBlue, the largest online donation platform on the left, has anticipated the presidential action. Its CEO and president, Regina Wallace-Jones, sent an email this week saying the organization expected an executive order targeting it, and that the threat of these investigations had 'caused many in the ecosystem anxiety and distress'.
'If we look past rumors and innuendo, here is what we know to be true: Nothing will deter or interrupt ActBlue's mission and work to enable millions of Americans to participate in our democracy,' she wrote. 'There is an ongoing and persistent effort to weaken the confidence of the American people in what's possible. This is the next version of 'the big lie.''
ActBlue is the main platform used to collect donations for Democratic candidates and causes. The move is among several actions the Trump administration has taken to 'cripple the left', the New York Times has reported, part of a 'series of highly partisan official actions that, if successful, will threaten to hobble Democrats' ability to compete in elections for years to come'.
The memo comes amid ongoing unsubstantiated claims on the right about the fundraising platform. Elon Musk has tweeted about ActBlue multiple times since Trump took office. 'Something stinks about ActBlue,' he said in one post.
Republican lawmakers have called on the treasury department to investigate ActBlue. Representative Darrell Issa wrote to the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, in March, saying the department should investigate whether ActBlue facilitated donations from 'terror-linked organizations and non-profits', based on reporting in rightwing media that the platform had cut ties with a Palestinian organization that advocates for divestment in Israel.
Congressman Bryan Steil, the chair of the Committee on House Administration, requested documents from ActBlue in October 'related to the platform's donor verification policies and potential vulnerabilities that foreign actors may exploit to illegally participate in the US political process'. Those documents showed that the platform had updated its policies to automatically reject certain donations from gift cards and other avenues, Steil said.
The organization has seen internal strife, the New York Times reported, leading to departures of senior officials. Republicans demanded more documents from ActBlue based on the departures, the paper reported.
The attack on the fundraising platform comes as Democrats prepare efforts to win back majorities in Washington in the midterms. On Thursday, the Democratic National Committee announced a plan to revitalize state Democratic parties by sending monthly donations from the national party to the states, with more funding going to red states.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
29 minutes ago
- Times
If I were Rachel Reeves: Hunt, Zahawi and Mel Stride give their advice
Sir Lots of people think being chancellor is like being Santa Claus with lots of goodies to dole out. The reality is rather different as both Rachel Reeves and I have found out. As I explain in my new book Can We Be Great Again? the biggest difference between good and bad governments is the extent to which you manage to carve out space for long-term decisions as opposed to daily firefighting. Here are the three crucial things I will be looking out for when it comes to the long term. First, given the austerity cuts about to be imposed on the police and criminal justice system, are we going to invest in modernising them so they really can deliver better outcomes with less money? Police officers spend up to eight hours a week on unnecessary admin tasks. They are crying out for modern IT systems which are normally the first casualty of any spending negotiations. If we want services to improve, things that unlock greater efficiency should be top and not bottom of a government's list. Second, when Europe is at war, you cannot commit to a programme that costs 3 per cent of GDP and only provide 2.5 per cent in funding — as the government appears to have done. That is a scandalous and dangerous black hole if ever there was one — not least a fortnight before the Nato summit. I was at the table when Trump nearly pulled the US out of Nato in 2018 so we are taking a big risk. But if we plug the gap, France and Germany are likely to as well. If we don't, and the US pulls out of Nato, it will not be 3 per cent we are arguing over but double that. Keir Starmer has shown he can be an international statesman — now really is the moment we need him to do the right thing. Finally, we have to avoid the doom loop of ever higher taxes creating ever lower growth. That means longer term supply-side policies to boost our growth rate. But in the short-term the only game in town is welfare reform as I explain in my new book. Getting the working age benefit bill to 2019 levels saves £49 billion — more than enough for 3 per cent of GDP on defence and to avoid tax rises. It would also be far better for people on benefits to be in work. Welfare reform isn't easy for Labour but with a large majority and four years in the mandate, if not now when? Nadhim Zahawi Rachel Reeves is in a difficult position. As the only cabinet member with real private sector experience, she should by now understand the difficulties businesses are facing because of the government's actions, not to mention families. Crucial to fixing this is to be able to reduce the tax burden, and that requires getting serious about growth. That will come from getting out of the way, deregulating and allowing supply-side reforms, but it also means attracting investment rather than driving it away. The closure of the non-doms regime has been a catastrophe for this, signalling that Britain isn't interested in prosperity. A flat-rate charge for wealthy individuals and entrepreneurs, as they do in Italy, would be a smart move, and worth eating humble pie over. Rome has had 2,200 multimillionaires settle there — raising hundreds of millions in tax and investment for the Italian people. If the chancellor can tempt them to the UK through a mix of a more welcoming tax regime, and a pledge to tackle law and order concerns, we could be back in business. Even before counting their ingenuity and investment, if we attracted just 3,000 new wealthy residents to Britain, charging them £400,000 per year to have an equivalent of non-dom tax status, she would be able to reverse the winter fuel allowance cut. Taking this further, and aiming for the sort of numbers America is hoping to attract with their Golden Visa programme, and she could do anything from abolishing the hated inheritance tax, which does so much to destroy family businesses and long-term investment in Britain, to an immediate increase in defence to 3 per cent of GDP or more. These are popular, easy fiscal policies which would unlock so much investment and revenue for the government. All Reeves needs to do is convince Labour not to hate wealth creators, which I grant may be a steep political challenge. Nadim Zahawi was Conservative chancellor between July and September 2022 Sir Mel Stride If I were in Rachel Reeves's shoes next week, I would do things very differently. First, I'd level with the public. Our country faces serious economic constraints and Labour's reckless policies are only deepening those problems — high debt, sluggish growth, rising cost of living. LEON NEAL/GETTY IMAGES The chancellor will no doubt tell us she is exercising judicious fiscal discipline, without mentioning that most of the new projects and programmes she is announcing are paid for with hundreds of billions in extra borrowing. I'd focus on what actually moves the dial. Productivity, public service reform and fiscal responsibility. That means rooting out waste, and being clear-eyed about what government can and cannot afford. And I wouldn't be afraid to say 'no'. Sometimes leadership means doing the difficult thing, not the easy or popular one. The scale of the spending being set out next week was confirmed in March, before the chancellor began being forced into embarrassing U-turns on welfare. We've seen what happens when fiscal credibility is lost — I would never let that happen again. So if I were the chancellor, I'd offer a serious plan. Rebuild stability, drive growth and restore trust. No gimmicks. Just hard truths and a credible path forward for our country.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Trump warns of 'consequences' for Elon after he 'disrespected the office of president'
President Donald Trump warned that Elon Musk would face 'very serious consequences' if he was to start bankrolling Democratic candidates. Their relationship disintegrated earlier this week as the former allies battled it out on social media after disagreeing on Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill.' Speaking with NBC News' Kristen Welker on Saturday, Trump was asked what he would do if Musk crossed the political aisle and donated to Democrats. 'If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that. He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that', he told out the outlet. Musk, who is worth $330 billion, was a major contributor to Trump's presidential campaign - spending at least $250 million in supporting his race for the White House last year. Asked specifically if he thought his relationship with the mega-billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is over, Trump responded: 'I would assume so, yeah.' 'I'm too busy doing other things. I won an election in a landslide. I gave him a lot of breaks, long before this happened,' he said. 'I gave him breaks in my first administration, and saved his life in my first administration, I have no intention of speaking to him', Trump added. Musk already said that he would be cutting back on spending on political campaigns ahead of next year's midterm elections. The president also accused Musk of being 'disrespectful to the office of the president.' 'I think it's a very bad thing, because he's very disrespectful,' Trump said. 'You could not disrespect the office of the president.' During their spat, Musk even suggested in a since-deleted post that Trump had been named in the government files involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Responding to that remark, Trump said: 'That's called "old news," that's been old news, that has been talked about for years. 'Even Epstein's lawyer said I had nothing to do with it. It's old news.' The two dialed back their barbs at each other by Friday night, with both saying that they wished each other well. But by that point, the damage to their relationship looked to be done. Following the outbreak of their feud, Trump and his allies have said Musk turned on the bill because it cuts subsidies for electric vehicles. Musk has said he doesn't need them anyway. The bill is estimated to add another $3.8 trillion to the national debt, which currently stands at a whopping $36 trillion. Musk went public with his criticism in a series of posts on X, arguing that the spending would wipe out the efforts of his DOGE team. Then, on Thursday, when Trump was supposed to be hosting the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, he was asked about Musk's recent criticism. From there the dam broke. 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will any more, I was surprised,' Trump told reporters. The president suggested that Musk was angry - not over the bill ballooning the deficit - but because the Trump administration has pulled back on electric vehicle mandates, which negatively impacted Tesla, and replaced a Musk-approved nominee to lead NASA, which could hinder SpaceX's government contracts. 'And you know, Elon's upset because we took the EV mandate, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles, and they're having a hard time the electric vehicles and they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidy,' Trump said. 'I know that disturbed him.' Over the weekend, Trump pulled the nomination of Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman worked alongside Musk at SpaceX. Reports have since emerged that the nomination of Isaacman being rescinded was in part because of the interference of Sergio Gor, the director of the Presidential Personnel Office. The New York Times had first reported that both Musk and some of those inside the White House had pinned the blame for the dust-up on Gor. Musk and Gor have had a sour relationship for months, stemming from what Axios described as Gor's 'resentment' of Musk's involvement in personnel issues. The Washington Post also reported that Gor had made it clear that he would find a way to get back at Musk, which turned out to be Isaacman's nomination. Trump had said he rescinded the nomination due to donations he had made to the Democrats over the years. Vice President JD Vance said in an interview tried to downplay the feud. He said Musk was making a 'huge mistake' going after Trump, but called him an 'emotional guy' getting frustrated. 'I hope that eventually Elon comes back into the fold. Maybe that´s not possible now because he´s gone so nuclear,' Vance said. Vance said that Musk´s DOGE, which sought to cut government spending and laid off thousands of workers, was 'really good.' He had made the comments as he spoke with comedian Theo Von, which was taped on Thursday as Musk's posts were unfurling on X. Von showed the veep Musk´s claim that Trump´s administration hasn´t released all the records related to Epstein because Trump is mentioned in them. Vance responded to that, saying, 'Absolutely not. Donald Trump didn´t do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein.' 'This stuff is just not helpful,' Vance said in response to another post shared by Musk calling for Trump to be impeached and replaced with Vance. 'It´s totally insane. The president is doing a good job.' Vance also defended the bill that has drawn Musk's ire, and said its central goal was not to cut spending but to extend the 2017 tax cuts approved in Trump's first term.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Gory details of Elon Musk's 'rugby tackle' of Scott Bessent spill out as White House leaks escalate
New details surrounding a White House brawl between Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have spilled out into the open - with one insider saying the Tesla CEO rammed his shoulder into Bessent's ribcage 'like a rugby player.' The Daily Mail was the first to report on the heated confrontation between Bessent and Musk, who's since been iced out of Donald Trump 's inner circle after their public blow-up this week. Former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon revealed that there was more to the mid-April tussle, insisting that both men ended up landing blows. They lost their patience with one another following a tense meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump snubbed Musk and instead took Bessent's advice on whom to name as acting IRS Commissioner, Bannon said. When Bessent and Musk exited the Oval Office, they began hurling insults at one another in the hallway. But it was Bessent who struck Musk where it hurts. According to Bannon, Bessent dared to say that the billionaire's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was a failure, since Musk didn't root out the $1 trillion in wasteful and fraudulent federal spending he promised he would. 'Scott said, "You're a fraud. You're a total fraud,"' Bannon said. That's when Musk body-checked Bessent, who hit the world's richest man right back, according to Bannon. Bessent's comment about Musk failing to deliver DOGE cuts at the magnitude he promised got the Tesla CEO to strike Bessent, who hit back, according to Steve Bannon Multiple people stepped in to break up the fight as the two men were getting close to the office of then-National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Musk was then escorted out of the West Wing. Bannon previously told the Daily Mail that Trump sided with Bessent '100 percent.' Still, Trump wasn't particularly happy that the fight took place, according to Bannon. 'President Trump heard about it and said, "This is too much,'' Bannon said. Details about the Bessent-Musk clash only build upon speculation that Trump has long been drifting away from his former 'first buddy,' who donated $288 million to his 2024 campaign. They also reinforce the fact that leakers inside the White House are laser-focused on Musk. Sources close to the billionaire blew the whistle on his poor relationship with Susie Wiles, Trump's no-nonsense chief of staff. He treated Wiles like a 'secretary,' a source told the Daily Mail in April, despite her proven track record of success leading Trump's winning 2024 campaign. And in early March, there was wide-scale reporting on an Oval Office blowup between Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This was in the early days of the DOGE-inspired layoffs, and according to The New York Times, Musk berated Rubio for not firing anyone at the State Department. Rubio reportedly asked whether the 1,500 State Department officials who took early retirement buyouts counted as layoffs. Then he 'sarcastically' questioned if Musk wanted him to rehire them so he could fire them again, The Times reported. Most recently, Musk's alleged drug use was laid bare by insiders who spoke to The New York Times. Musk was reportedly taking ketamine so frequently that it was affecting his bladder function. The bombshell report also claimed he took ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms and traveled with a daily pill box that contained about 20 different drugs, including Adderall. While all these disagreements played out behind the scenes, things between Musk and Trump seemed copacetic. In March, when Tesla stock was tanking and people began fire-bombing the electric vehicles all over the country, Trump brought Tesla to the South Lawn of the White House. One of the harshest barbs in the Trump-Musk feud came when Musk accused the president of being in the Epstein files As recently as May 30, Trump was praising Musk for his DOGE efforts during a press conference in the Oval Office, even presenting him a golden key to the White House. The era of good feelings would only last a few days more. On Tuesday afternoon, he posted on X about his unflinching hate for the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' Trump's landmark budget and tax cut bill. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,' Musk wrote. 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' In response, Trump said he was 'very surprised' and 'very disappointed' about Musk's unabashed criticism. On Thursday, Trump threatened to cut off federal loans and subsidies to Musk's companies, which have received some $38 billion in government money over the last two decades. Trump doubled down on this idea Friday, telling reporters aboard Air Force One: ''I would certainly think about it, but it has to be fair.' He also told reporters that he wished the billionaire 'well,' to which Musk replied in a post on X saying: 'Likewise.' Musk then responded to the clip of Trump talking about canceling his grants, saying: 'Fair enough.' Musk has sought to soften his tone, recently deleting his post on X saying that Trump was in the Epstein files. On Saturday, Trump did a phone interview with NBC's Kristen Welker and said he had no desire to mend his relationship with Musk. He also said he didn't plan to speak with Musk anytime soon. 'I'm too busy doing other things,' Trump said. 'I have no intention of speaking to him.'
