House Republicans Want Answers
ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones is set to testify Wednesday before the full House Administration Committee in a hearing titled “Preventing Fraudulent Donations: Transparency, Verification, and Accountability.” Chairman Bryan Steil says he wants answers about why ActBlue’s fraud standards were so loose, because apparently “trust us” is not an election security strategy. The hearing comes after years of complaints that the giant Democratic fundraising platform did not do enough to stop bad donations from slipping through its system.
Questions About Foreign Money and Compliance
The committee’s April report says allegations of foreign donations and a cover-up led to resignations and firings on ActBlue’s legal and compliance team. The New York Times reported that the platform’s lawyers warned ActBlue may have misled Congress about foreign contributions. Federal law bars foreign nationals without lawful permanent residency from giving to federal candidates or PACs, which is a rule most people can understand without a policy retreat. ActBlue denies wrongdoing, but the report says Wallace-Jones had previously made “misstatements” to lawmakers, and five employees invoked the Fifth Amendment during committee depositions instead of answering substantive questions.
The Investigation Is Spreading
Steil says the probe started after reports that ActBlue accepted donations without a card verification value, or CVV, and then widened as more concerns surfaced. Last week, Steil joined Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. James Comer in asking for documents and transcribed interviews from five board members, with letters saying ActBlue staff warned the board about weaknesses tied to the knowing acceptance of foreign donations. The lawmakers also said the platform’s actions slowed legislation meant to protect U.S. elections from fraud, which is the sort of bureaucratic foot-dragging that keeps everyone busy except the people supposed to fix the problem.
Board Questions and What Comes Next
According to the letters, board chair Kimberly Peeler-Allen said there was significant alarm on the board, though the concern seemed to be more about legal exposure than the underlying conduct. The chairmen say outside counsel warned about the consequences of ActBlue’s actions, and that the board did not correct Wallace-Jones’s false or misleading statements to Congress. Republican lawmakers say Wednesday’s hearing is their chance to get the record straight, if the witnesses decide the Fifth Amendment should not do all the talking.
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