ActBlue, the massive online fund-raising platform for liberal causes, has informed Congress it did not automatically block donations made with foreign-bought gift cards until recently, a potentially significant revelation in an ongoing investigation into whether China, Russia, Iran or Venezuela routed illicit money to Democrat candidates.
House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., whose panel oversees election integrity, told Just the News on Tuesday that ActBlue turned over documents under subpoena showing a major change in September to its donor verification policies designed to protect against illicit money flowing into political campaigns.
ActBlue disclosed that it updated its policies on Sept. 9 to “automatically reject donations that use foreign prepaid/gift cards, domestic gift cards, are from high-risk/sanctioned countries, and have the highest level of risk as determined,” by its solution provider, Sift.
The change occurred just three days after Steil introduced the Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations (SHIELD) Act on Sept. 6 to ensure foreign money stayed out of online political fundraising. Before the change, Steil said, donations made with foreign gift cards were not automatically rejected by ActBlue before the change.
“While this is a positive step forward, there is still more work to be done to ensure our campaign finance system is fully protected from fraud and unlawful foreign interference,” Steil told Just the News. “The documents provided to the Committee also confirm that ActBlue still accepted these concerning payment methods in July, a period when Democrats raised a record number of campaign money before implementing these safeguards.
Steil disclosed earlier this fall that his committee is investigating whether four foreign powers — China, Russia, Venezuela, and Iran — used ActBlue to route illicit foreign money into Democrat coffers.
His committee referred thousands of suspicious donations to state attorneys general in five states, prompting an investigation that has now expanded to 19 states.
In addition, a Wisconsin Republican strategist filed a lawsuit in October alleging his email identity was misused to make Democrat and liberal donations he did not authorize or pay for. The judge in the case recently approved a subpoena compelling ActBlue to disclose certain evidence in the case.
Meanwhile, Steil and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer have requested to see suspicious activity reports filed by banks flagging certain monies flowing through Act Blue. Comer recently alerted lawmakers there could be hundreds of such reports to review.
ActBlue has broadly denied wrongdoing but says it is cooperating with the various investigations. It claims to have raised more than $2 billion in small online fund-raising donations for Democrat and liberal causes since its inception in 2004.
In a recent statement on its site to users, ActBlue said it was the victim of “disinformation” and was committed to complying with the law and protecting donors’ privacy.
“We rigorously protect donors’ information by maintaining a robust security program and strict fraud prevention measures – often beyond what is required by law,” it said. “ActBlue holds itself to the highest legal and ethical standards, and all contributions made through ActBlue are disclosed in full compliance with federal, state, and local laws.”
Steil said while getting to the bottom of any foreign funds that flowed through ActBlue is imperative, he also is focused on enduring new legislation that closes any potential loopholes that allowed bad actors to cheat on political fund-raising.
“We must keep working to ensure that no foreign funds were illegally funneled into U.S. political campaigns during this election cycle,” he said. “It is also critical that we enact lasting reforms to prevent illicit contributions in future election cycles.
“Advancing legislation like the SHIELD Act will permanently close these vulnerable loopholes and safeguard the integrity of our campaign finance system,” he added.
John Solomon is an award-winning investigative journalist, author, and digital media entrepreneur who serves as Chief Executive Officer and Editor in Chief of Just the News.
Reprinted with permission from Just the News – By John Solomon
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
