Republicans subpoena ActBlue over allegations of illegally funneling foreign money to Dem campaigns

Organizers of the main fundraising portal for the Democratic Party have been subpoenaed by Republicans in Congress over accusations that they aided illegal foreign donations.

'The Committee’s investigation uncovered that foreign actors might be taking advantage of ActBlue’s inadequate security protocols.'

Republican Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, who is also the chair of the Committee on House Administration, said the committee had requested documents from ActBlue related to its donor verification policies. The platform's lax policies might be allowing foreign actors to "launder illicit money" into political campaigns, the letter claimed.

"We cannot allow foreign actors to influence our elections through campaign financing," said Steil in a statement Wednesday.

"The Committee’s investigation uncovered that foreign actors might be taking advantage of ActBlue’s inadequate security protocols," he added. "To ensure that foreign money is not being laundered through ActBlue, we are requesting a series of documents and communications related to their donor security and verification policies."

ActBlue has collected over $1.5 billion in donations from about 7 million donors. The portal's organizers issued a brief response to the subpoena Thursday.

"ActBlue has received Chairman Steil’s latest inquiry and will respond to address the continued inaccuracies and misrepresentations about our platform, as we have done previously," the statement read. "We rigorously protect donors' security and maintain strict anti-fraud compliance practices. We have zero tolerance for fraud on our platform."

Critics of the platform have documented suspicious irregularities in donor records that have led some to accuse ActBlue of illegal money laundering. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has called on the Federal Election Commission to investigate the donor portal over the accusations.

Earlier in October the portal said it had dumped several political action committees that had been accused of being "scam PACs" inappropriately spending donation money meant for campaigns.

"Preventing foreign interference in U.S. elections has been my top priority as Chairman, and this next step in our investigation is crucial to achieving that goal," Steil concluded.

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