Democrat Fundraiser ActBlue Faces Hill Scrutiny of Its Operations

Top Republican House leaders have formally requested that ActBlue, one of the Democratic Party’s largest political action committees, turn over documents related to its governance and operations. 

In a letter dated April 2 to ActBlue President and Chief Executive Officer Regina Wallace-Jones, the chairmen of the House committees on the Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, and Administration requested documents and testimony from two employees of the organization.

The names of the employees whose testimony was requested were redacted in the version of the letter that was made public.

A source familiar with the investigation told The Daily Signal, “We expect ActBlue employees to participate in the transcribed interviews and submit the required documents.” The source explained, “If they fail to comply, all options are on the table.”

An ActBlue spokesperson told The Daily Signal, “As we have historically done, ActBlue will continue to respond to requests from the House committees.”

In their letter, the committee chairs said that they were seeking “to investigate ActBlue’s fraud-prevention policies and practices, which may allow bad actors to make fraudulent political donations, including from foreign sources.” 

ActBlue is one of the largest fundraisers for the Democratic Party, and claims to have raised more than $16.7 billion for Democrats since it was founded in 2004. Prior to the recent turmoil in leadership, it was a widely trusted source for liberal giving. 

ActBlue has come under increasing scrutiny since it announced a wave of departures of top staff in February.

The resignations included the organization’s highest-ranking legal officer, the chief revenue officer, and the assistant research director. 

ActBlue has received donations from some of the Democratic Party’s most important fundraisers, including thousands of dollars from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.

The Daily Signal has previously reported that the group may have received millions of dollars through fraudulent donations, according to testimony from some elderly Americans. One such individual, a retired Yale University professor, testified in a signed affidavit that he believed the donations in his name did not reflect his actual donation frequency or dollar amount.

ActBlue charges a 3.95% processing fee on donations to it. 

The organization also reportedly locked out Zain Ahmad, the last remaining member of the group’s general counsel’s office as of Feb. 26, from his email and other internal platforms. The letter from the House chairmen highlighted the organization’s actions toward Ahmad, who has been put on leave, and noted that ActBlue’s union reportedly told the group’s board that “those of us who work with our legal team in our day-to-day do not have clear direction on how to proceed with our work in their absence.”

The House letter noted that fraudulent political donations “could amount to interstate criminal conduct,” citing a legal case that resulted in a Chinese national’s criminal conviction for improper donations.

To that end, the letter requested that ActBlue provide information to explain who among its staff is responsible for federal law compliance. It also asked for documentation and communications related to alleged misconduct and staff resignations, specifically in regard to former ActBlue Vice President for Customer Service Alyssa Twomey and members of the ActBlue’s office of the general counsel. 

The letter’s deadline for the requested information is April 16.