GOP Investigating ActBlue: Democratic Fundraising Platform Used by Harris
House Committee Probes Democratic Fundraising Platform ActBlue
A major Democratic fundraising platform, ActBlue, is under scrutiny as Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., chairs the Committee on House Administration and widens the probe into accusations of skirting campaign donation laws and allowing rampant fraud on the site.
Steil has urged top officials on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to initiate an emergency rulemaking to require political campaigns to verify the card verification value (CVV) of donors who contribute online using credit or debit cards. Additionally, he requested to prohibit political campaigns from accepting online contributions from gift cards or other prepaid credit cards.
Republicans on the committee and other GOP officials have long criticized ActBlue for its lax donor verification standards, with allegations of fraudulent donations being reported to the FEC.
Whistleblowers who approached the committee accused ActBlue of deliberately not using CVV numbers for donations to lower the bar for verification. They also reported receiving numerous donations from retirees living on a fixed income and hundreds of donations of $2.50 from the same individual.
The platform has been instrumental in raising millions for Vice President Kamala Harris as she gears up to face former President Trump in the upcoming election. While a CVV number is now required for credit card donations on the page accepting contributions for Harris, Steil claimed that ActBlue has accepted donations via prepaid debit cards and gift cards, potentially enabling the laundering of foreign donations.
Before the FEC imposed specific rules requiring CVV numbers for online political donations, ActBlue did not mandate this verification. Steil’s letter argued that the site’s acceptance of prepaid credit cards and gift cards creates a loophole for straw donors to contribute funds from unlawful sources, including foreign nationals.
Similar investigations into ActBlue were launched by GOP attorneys general of Virginia, Wyoming, and Missouri recently. In response to these probes, ActBlue dismissed them as partisan attacks and scare tactics.
As the committee delves deeper into the allegations against ActBlue, the platform and the Harris campaign have remained silent on requests for comment.
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