‘BLATANT VIOLATION’: Dem Uses Hearing on ActBlue Foreign Funding to Urge Campaign Contributions
A House Democrat faces a potential ethics investigation and loud criticism from her Republican colleague after she used her time during a committee hearing into alleged lawbreaking by the Democrat fundraising platform ActBlue to raise money for Democrat campaigns.
“It was just such a blatant violation,” Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., told the Daily Signal in a phone interview Thursday.
“You would think anybody would know that you can’t campaign fundraise for Democrats generally, or anybody in particular, in the middle of an official hearing,” he added. “It is a violation of ethics rules and, apparently, some federal statute.”
Americans for Public Trust, a nonprofit ethics watchdog, filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Conduct Wednesday after the hearing.
‘Contribute Through ActBlue’
ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones on Thursday repeatedly pleaded her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself at the Committee on House Administration’s hearing, “Preventing Fraudulent Donations: Transparency, Verification, and Accountability.” ActBlue faces scrutiny for allegedly misleading Congress about its safeguards regarding foreign funding.
ActBlue previously told the Daily Signal that it has “continually worked to comply” with all laws regarding foreign contributions.
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Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, did not question Wallace-Jones with her time, but rather attacked the premise of the hearing, suggesting it was untoward for the committee’s Republican majority to investigate ActBlue but not the Republican counterpart, WinRed.
Johnson concluded her remarks by saying, “So my comment to the American people is, vote, contribute through ActBlue, send money to your Democratic candidates. Make sure that Democrats win in November so that we can stop this nonsense once and for all.”
The Complaint
Americans for Public Trust cited the House Ethics Manual, which states that “House buildings, and House rooms and offices—including district offices—are supported with official funds and hence are considered official resources. Accordingly, as a general rule, they may not be used for the conduct of campaign or political activities.”
The watchdog group also cited 18 U.S.C. § 607(a)(1), which prohibits members of Congress from soliciting or receiving campaign contributions in federal offices in connection with federal, state, or local elections.
“The American people deserve representatives that take seriously the threat of foreign influence in our politics,” Caitlin Sutherland, executive director at Americans for Public Trust, told the Daily Signal in a statement Thursday.
“The fact that Rep. Johnson used the hearing to grandstand and mislead the public about that threat, then break the law herself by illegally soliciting donations during the hearing, demonstrates how important it is that we hold politicians accountable,” Sutherland added. “The Office of Congressional Conduct has our complaint regarding this cut-and-dried violation of the law and we urge them to take swift action.”
Johnson’s office did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication time.
Former Rep. Colin Allred edged out Johnson in the primary for her congressional seat in May.
“It’s a clear violation of ethics rules and a misuse of a government official work as we’re working on the committee to be fundraising from the committee dais,” Griffith argued. “Just, it’s an outrageous abuse.”
Griffith also countered Johnson’s suggestion of a double standard between ActBlue and WinRed.
“When you look at ActBlue, it appears there was a systematic—at the very least—disregard for the law,” he said. “I have not seen that, as a general rule, with WinRed.”
“If WinRed has done something, we’ll get to it,” he added.
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