House Administration Committee Chairman Brian Steele (R-Wis.) sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission on Monday urging it to impose new rules to prevent donation fraud. New York Post report.
The request comes amid allegations that ActBlue Charities, a Democratic fundraising platform, received at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent donations, raising questions about whether the platform is involved in a money laundering scheme, as previously reported by Blaze News.
“Illegal and egregious behavior has no place in our elections.”
According to FEC records, independent journalists have uncovered a long list of questionable donations, including individuals who have donated more than 20,000 times since 2019. James O’Keefe interviewed several individuals who were listed as donating “thousands of times per year.”
O’Keefe said of this discovery X“Cindy Nau of Annapolis, Maryland, allegedly made over 1,000 donations to ActBlue in 2022, totaling $18,849.77. That means Cindy would have had to donate three times a day, every day for a year. When asked if she donated $18,850 to ActBlue, Nau replied: [O’Keefe Media Group]”No, I don’t think so.”
ActBlue is raising funds on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris, who recently reported that she raised more than $200 million in one week.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares became the first attorney general to announce plans for his office to investigate the ActBlue allegations, and the attorneys general of Missouri and Wyoming have also launched investigations into the allegations.
“Following widespread reports to the FEC of alleged fraudulent donations from ActBlue, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the nation, this emergency rulemaking is necessary to reassure the American people that ActBlue is taking necessary steps to protect its donors,” Steele wrote to the FEC.
He called on the FEC to enact new rules requiring fundraising platforms to verify credit card verification values and address information. Additionally, Steele is calling on the FEC to put a stop to gift card donations, which he says can be used to facilitate fake donations from abroad.
“Illegal and egregious conduct has no place in our elections, and as we approach the presidential election, it is paramount that all political parties ensure they are complying with federal election laws,” Steele continued. “Allowing political committees to accept donations made through gift cards or prepaid credit cards increases the appearance and possibility that dummy donors are contributing to campaigns with funds provided by other people and illegal donors, including foreign nationals.”
He said these issues “create serious loopholes in the transparency and integrity of the campaign fundraising process.”
ActBlue has recently Newsweek“This investigation is nothing more than a partisan political attack and scare tactic designed to weaken the power of Democrats and progressive small donors. We welcome the opportunity to refute these baseless allegations.”
The fundraising platform did not respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censorship and sign up for our newsletter to receive stories like this directly to your inbox. Register here!
