The House Oversight Committee, led by Republican members, sent a letter to the Treasury Department requesting access to any Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) related to the political action committee ActBlue. This move is part of an ongoing investigation into potentially fraudulent donations made through ActBlue’s platform.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) addressed the request in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, asking for all SARs between January 1, 2023, and the present that involve ActBlue. The suspicious activities being investigated may include money laundering, counterfeit credit/debit card fraud, false statements, wire transfer fraud, or identity theft.
Comer highlighted the importance of proper vetting of donations made through online platforms to prevent bad actors from exploiting federal campaign finance laws. He also mentioned that ActBlue was already under investigation by the House Administration Committee due to reports and lawsuits filed by GOP states alleging that the Democratic fundraising giant had accepted massive amounts of contributions from unaware donors.
The lack of security measures, such as not requiring Card Verification Value (CVV) for online transactions with debit or credit cards, may have allowed foreign nationals to contribute funds to influence US elections through gift cards or prepaid debit cards, a violation of federal law.
To address these issues, Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), who chairs the House Administration Committee, petitioned the Federal Election Commission (FEC) last month to get involved and create new rules that would strengthen the verification process for political donations. He emphasized the need for emergency rulemaking to reassure the American people that ActBlue is taking the necessary steps to protect its donors and ensure transparency and integrity in the campaign donation process.
During the 2021-2022 election cycle, ActBlue raised over $2.2 billion for Democratic candidates and causes, as reported by OpenSecrets.com, a money-in-politics tracker. The Treasury Department has not yet responded to requests for comment on this issue.
