This information was revealed by Bryan Steil, Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, in a report released by his office in mid-December 2024, which received minimal media coverage. This report followed an investigation conducted during the summer and fall of 2024 that examined accusations against ActBlue regarding its involvement in donation laundering.
The core issue, which may constitute a criminal offense, is that ActBlue allegedly failed to filter out substantial donations from foreign individuals and entities. In response to this concern, Congressman Steil requested “documents related to ActBlue’s donor verification policies and the potential for foreign actors to use the platform to launder illicit money into U.S. political campaigns.”
The investigation was prompted by the fact that ActBlue was processing donations without requiring the CVV number from credit cards, raising the possibility of foreign and illegal contributions being accepted. As stated by his office, “ActBlue was accepting political contributions without a card verification value (CVV). Chairman Steil sent a letter demanding clarification on ActBlue’s practices, questioning whether they comply with federal campaign finance laws and effectively prevent foreign and illegal contributions.”
In an October 2024 statement, Rep. Steil emphasized, “We cannot allow foreign actors to influence our elections through campaign financing. The Committee’s investigation revealed that foreign entities might exploit ActBlue’s insufficient security measures.”He stated, “In order to prevent the laundering of foreign funds through ActBlue, we are requesting a range of documents and communications pertaining to their donor security and verification protocols. As Chairman, my foremost priority has been to avert foreign interference in U.S. elections, and this next phase of our investigation is vital to achieving that objective.”
In the context of issuing a subpoena, he noted, “As the Committee progresses in crafting legislation aimed at closing loopholes in our campaign finance system and deterring foreign entities from influencing U.S. federal elections, we are serving this subpoena to enhance our understanding and efforts to protect our electoral processes.” He subsequently published a report detailing the findings from the subpoena, which indicated that it was not until September 2024 that the platform began to reject additional types of donations, including foreign prepaid gift cards and other potential avenues for laundering money into Democratic campaigns.
According to his office, “Today, Chairman Bryan Steil (WI-01) of the Committee on House Administration announced the results of his subpoena directed at ActBlue, a prominent Democratic fundraising platform. The documents received revealed that as of September 2024, ActBlue has instituted revised policies to ‘automatically reject donations made with foreign prepaid/gift cards, domestic gift cards, those originating from high-risk or sanctioned countries, and those deemed to carry the highest level of risk’ by its solution provider, Sift.” This policy change in September was prompted by Rep. Steil’s successful passage of the SHEILD Act through Congress, which, among other provisions, prohibited donations via prepaid cards.
Steil remarked on the situation, acknowledging that while it is encouraging that ActBlue has begun to comply, the troubling activities had occurred months prior. He stated, “Although this represents a positive advancement, there remains significant work to be done to ensure that our campaign finance system is entirely safeguarded against fraud and unlawful foreign interference. The documents provided to the Committee also indicate that ActBlue continued to accept these donations.”He stated, “As Chairman, I am dedicated to preventing foreign influence in our elections and ensuring transparency for the American public. We must continue our efforts to guarantee that no foreign funds have been illegally funneled into U.S. political campaigns during this election cycle. It is also essential that we implement enduring reforms to avert illicit contributions in future elections. Promoting legislation such as the SHIELD Act will effectively close these vulnerable loopholes and protect the integrity of our campaign finance system.”
In a subsequent post on X in December, Steil remarked, “My investigation has shown that ActBlue did not automatically reject suspicious donations on its platform until September. @RepJamesComer and I have urged @USTreasury to examine ActBlue’s SARs. The administration continues to obstruct our request. This is unacceptable.” You can view Steil’s comments on the issue in Congress here:
