Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie LeDuff reported on Wednesday that federal investigations have linked an 88-year-old retiree from Milan, Michigan, to nearly $4,500 in new donations via ActBlue over a period of six weeks, including four contributions made on a day when she reportedly had no internet access.
LeDuff detailed that Elizabeth Waffle was credited with 562 transactions during that timeframe. Interestingly, four of those, amounting to $22 total, were recorded on the same day he visited her isolated trailer, where, curiously, her utilities including power, water, and internet were all cut off.
During his first visit, LeDuff attempted to assist Waffle with making a donation online but found it impossible to connect.
“Remember, last time we were here, we tried to make a donation?” LeDuff said, reflecting on their earlier encounter in a follow-up discussion.
Among the various donations was a $51 contribution for Abdul El-Sayed, someone LeDuff described as “the king of the Michigan micro-donors.” El-Sayed recently secured a narrow victory in the Democratic Senate primary and will go up against Republican Mike Rogers in November, a race that analysts are marking as significant for Senate control.
The retiree lost her home to a fire two years ago and has since been residing in a trailer. She expressed confusion over the donation figures, which had surged to a reported 14,696 contributions over five years—averaging eight per day—and a total that LeDuff estimated to exceed $130,000.
When LeDuff returned last week with documentation, Waffle confronted him, questioning if he intended to create a negative expose about the platform.
“I think it’s a bunch of hogwash,” Waffle remarked.
She went on to suggest that other political groups resort to cheating as well and seemed to agree with LeDuff’s suggestion to “fight fire with fire.” Nonetheless, she softened her tone a bit.
“I believe in honesty,” she stated. “I really do care if someone is manipulating the numbers.”
When asked if she wanted him to continue his investigation, Waffle replied affirmatively, “Yeah, if they are,” she said.
However, not all independent evaluations align with the totals reported by Michigan Enjoyer. The Center Square noted discrepancies, revealing that FEC records indicated $100,295 in contributions connected to Waffle across three election cycles, also pointing out that ActBlue’s Tandem Fundraising tool allows a single donation to be split across multiple campaigns, resulting in several distinct recorded transactions from one gift.
This renewed examination comes amidst ongoing federal scrutiny of the Democrat fundraising platform. ActBlue’s CEO, Regina Wallace-Jones, invoked her Fifth Amendment rights multiple times earlier this year before the House Administration Committee. Additionally, President Donald Trump had instructed the Justice Department in April to investigate whether online fundraising platforms had facilitated illegal contributions.
