A hearing with a lot of silence ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace Jones came before the House Administration Committee this week and gave lawmakers almost nothing back. Across the hearing, she invoked her Fifth Amendment right 22 times and did not answer a single question, which is one way to turn a hearing on transparency into a master class in avoidance. Chairman Bryan Steil led the questioning and focused on a 2023 letter Wallace Jones had sent to Congress about ActBlue’s donation checks. Republicans said her silence only raised more questions about what the fundraising giant knew, when it knew it, and why the answers seem to have gone missing. Questions about foreign money and fake names Steil and other Republicans pressed Wallace Jones on allegations that ActBlue accepted donations tied to foreign sources and contributions that did not match real people. Lawmakers pointed to donor records that reportedly used so-called smurfs, meaning names used without the owner’s knowledge. They also asked whether ActBlue weakened fraud screening after internal warnings said looser rules would invite more bad donations. Wallace Jones would not say if she stood by her prior sworn statements, whether she approved the changes, or how much money may…

Comer says the case is now with the Justice DepartmentRep. James Comer said the Minnesota fraud investigation has moved from congressional oversight to the Justice Department after work with whistleblowers and the House Oversight Committee. Appearing on Fox News, he said the case shows both misuse of federal money and retaliation against people who tried to report it, which is a tidy reminder that public agencies can still surprise themselves in the worst way.Whistleblowers told state leaders firstComer said nine Minnesota government employees came forward with evidence of fraud and brought their concerns to Attorney General Keith Ellison and Gov. Tim Walz. He said the complaints were not properly addressed and that the workers later faced retaliation for speaking out. In government, the memo is often more important than the message, unless the message threatens the wrong people.Arrests and big dollar figures keep growingComer said more than 30 people have already been arrested in connection with the scheme. He also repeated estimates that as much as $300 million in federal nutrition aid and $9 billion in Medicare billing may have been stolen. Those are not rounding errors. Those are the kind of numbers that make a budget look like it…