First appeared on FOX — In a letter on Thursday, New York Rep. Claudia Tenney called on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to investigate recent allegations of “fraudulent, deceptive and potentially illegal conduct” by ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising platform that has funneled millions of dollars to Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign and its affiliates.
Tenney, co-chair of the House Caucus for Election Integrity, cited “significant public reports of unusual transaction activity amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars” in a letter to Federal Election Commission Chairman Sean Cooksey and Vice Chair Ellen Weintraub. According to the commission’s public data, “numerous individuals donate to ActBlue thousands of times each year,” Tenney wrote. However, “many of these individuals reportedly were unaware that their names and addresses were being used to make thousands of dollars in political contributions.”
The FEC declined to comment on the letter. Fox News Digital reached out to ActBlue about the allegations but did not immediately receive a response.
The letter noted that unlike most online platforms engaged in e-commerce, ActBlue does not require a card verification number (CVV) to complete a transaction. With regard to campaign finances, Tenney said the use of CVV numbers is an “effective fraud prevention measure that prevents unlawful transactions that violate the Federal Election Campaign Act, 52 U.S. Code §§ 30101-30145, and various state election laws.”
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New York Rep. Claudia Tenney has called on the FEC to investigate ActBlue. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Given this deliberate lack of security in the donation process, it’s not surprising that ActBlue could be abused for fraud,” Tenney wrote. “Recognizing foreign actors using fake accounts to exploit a donation system without strong verification safeguards, most individual campaigns and political action committees (PACs) require CVV numbers to donate online. However, despite its widespread use in online campaigns, ActBlue has purposefully chosen not to require CVV numbers for donations, potentially facilitating fraud and foreign interference in our election systems.”
Senator Tenney specifically asked the FEC to investigate “unusual trading activity related to contributions to ActBlue” and to respond to whether the FEC has already investigated the unusual trading activity or ActBlue’s inadequate verification processes. If so, she asked the FEC to provide a “detailed summary of the findings of its investigation.”
If not, Tenney asked, the FEC would “investigate possible fraudulent contributions to ActBlue and the organization’s lack of verification guidelines.”
The letter also asked whether ActBlue “is in compliance with federal regulations regarding the acceptance of online donations” and whether the FEC would consider the House Administration Committee’s August 5 request for “emergency rulemaking” that would require campaigns to verify the CVV numbers of online donors.
Kamala Harris and Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, at a campaign event in Philadelphia on August 6, 2024. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
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“As a founding member of the House Election Integrity Caucus, I take election safety, security, and integrity very seriously. Public confidence in our elections has fallen to historic lows, and Congress and federal regulators must take meaningful action to restore this confidence,” Tenney wrote.
On Monday, Rep. Brian Steil (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Administration Committee, wrote Federal Election Commission leaders urging them to “immediately initiate emergency regulations to require political campaigns to verify the card verification numbers (CVVs) of donors making online credit and debit card donations and to prohibit the acceptance of online donations made with gift cards and other prepaid credit cards.” The August 5 request came in response to accusations that ActBlue is circumventing campaign finance laws that allow widespread fraud on its site.
Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Girard College in Philadelphia on August 6, 2024. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
According to the committee, whistleblowers who contacted it in recent weeks have accused ActBlue of deliberately avoiding using CVV numbers on donations in order to lower the verification bar.
However, as of Monday morning, pages accepting credit card donations to the vice president still required the CVV number.
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According to the committee, whistleblowers also reported receiving a significant number of donations from retirees living on fixed incomes, as well as hundreds of donations of $2.50 each from the same person.
This site is Raise millions of dollars Harris will face off against former President Trump in November.
Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
