FIRST ON FOX: A significant House committee is expanding its investigation into the prominent Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue.
Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., the chair of the Committee on House Administration, is looking into ActBlue amid allegations that it is bypassing campaign donation regulations, which may lead to widespread fraud on the platform.
In a letter addressed to key officials at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Monday, Steil called for immediate emergency rulemaking that would mandate political campaigns to confirm the card verification value (‘CVV’) of online card donors and prohibit the acceptance of online contributions made via gift cards or other prepaid credit cards.
Republicans on the committee, along with other GOP representatives, have accused ActBlue of having insufficient donor verification processes for several months.
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House Committee on Administration Chair Bryan Steil is investigating the Democratic fundraising powerhouse that has assisted Vice President Kamala Harris in raising millions. (Getty Images)
“In light of numerous allegations regarding fraudulent donations reported to the FEC by ActBlue, one of the largest fundraising platforms nationally, this emergency rulemaking is essential to reassure the American public that ActBlue is implementing necessary measures to safeguard its donors,” Steil stated.
According to his committee, whistleblowers who have recently approached the panel allege that ActBlue intentionally does not utilize CVV numbers for donations, thereby lowering the verification threshold.
Whistleblowers have also claimed to receive a large number of contributions from retirees on fixed incomes and hundreds of instances of $2.50 donations from the same individual, as reported by the committee.
The platform has been utilized to generate millions for Vice President Kamala Harris as she prepares to challenge former President Trump in November.
As of Monday morning, however, the vice president’s credit card donation page required a CVV number.
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Steil accused ActBlue of permitting donations made through prepaid debit cards and gift cards, which he stated could potentially be used for laundering foreign donations. (CyberGuy.com)
A CVV number was also a requirement for credit card donations on various Democratic House candidates’ ActBlue pages reviewed by Fox News Digital; however, donations were also accepted through Paypal, Venmo, and Google Pay, which did not require users to enter such information.
As of last spring, nonetheless, the FEC had not set explicit rules mandating CVV numbers for online political donations.
Steil’s letter further asserted that the platform’s acceptance of prepaid credit and gift cards creates a “very real possibility that straw donors are making campaign contributions with financing supplied by a third party or an unlawful donor, including foreign nationals. These concerns represent a significant loophole in the transparency and integrity surrounding campaign donations, necessitating emergency rulemaking to address these issues.”
The committee indicated that whistleblowers have also suggested that prepaid gift and credit cards are being utilized to wash campaign contributions that would otherwise breach campaign finance regulations.
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This follows similar inquiries initiated by GOP attorneys general in Virginia, Wyoming, and Missouri last week.
ActBlue responded to Newsweek regarding these investigations, stating, “This inquiry is merely a partisan political maneuver and a tactic to intimidate Democratic and progressive small-dollar contributors. We welcome the chance to respond to these baseless allegations.”
The FEC did not provide any comments when approached by Fox News Digital.
Neither ActBlue nor the Harris campaign responded to requests for comments.
