A recent investigation conducted by a media organization has brought to light further inquiries concerning numerous small-dollar contributions to ActBlue, a fundraising platform for the Democratic Party, within a brief timeframe. This scrutiny coincides with an increasing number of state attorneys general and congressional Republicans initiating their own investigations.
The Tennessee Star has pinpointed seven individuals who ActBlue has reported as having made over 1,000 donations each since the beginning of 2023, thereby amplifying concerns that the platform may be implicated in fraudulent activities.
Margaret Maher, a 68-year-old individual categorized as “Not Employed,” is said to have contributed nearly $33,000 to the largest Political Action Committee (PAC) aligned with the left through 4,200 separate donations over the last 20 months, as per documents submitted to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by the Democrat-supporting non-profit organization, according to the report.
The majority of these contributions ranged from $2 to $5 and were allocated to various entities, including the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), the Stop Trump PAC, the Retired Americans PAC, and the National Democratic Training Committee PAC, among others. Whether intentionally or not, Maher has emerged as the second-largest contributor to the Stop GOP Governors PAC this year.
“Still, a majority of her alleged donations went directly into the coffers of ActBlue to spend as it pleases,” the report said.
The news outlet reported that it made efforts to contact Maher, but found that her phone line had been disconnected. Additionally, the outlet communicated its findings to U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, Mark Wildasin, who had recently authorized a warrant for an FBI raid on the residence of U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.). However, the outlet did not indicate whether Wildasin would pursue an investigation.
In a related development, the chairman of the prominent House Administration Committee has redirected his inquiry into one of the Democrats’ most effective political action committees to examine the possibility of foreign entities laundering money in connection with the 2024 election, as reported by Just the News.
Representative Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) announced that his committee has pinpointed individuals who claim they did not contribute the funds attributed to them in the Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports submitted by the Democrat fundraising platform ActBlue. His committee, which is responsible for matters of election integrity, has initiated a comprehensive investigation.
“My concern is that individuals are outside the jurisdiction in the United States who may be engaged in this,” Steil told the “Just the News, No Noise” television show. “We need to make sure that we’re avoiding, in particular, foreign interference in American elections in a period of time when the Biden administration and radical Democrats are happy to do the opposite.”
Recently, Steil submitted a request to the Federal Election Commission advocating for the establishment of emergency regulations aimed at enhancing donor verification processes and mitigating fraud perpetrated by anonymous contributors who utilize the names of others to make donations. “In light of numerous allegations regarding fraudulent contributions reported to the FEC by ActBlue, one of the nation’s largest fundraising platforms, the implementation of these emergency rules is essential to restore public confidence that ActBlue is undertaking the necessary measures to safeguard its donors,” Steil conveyed to the FEC.
During an interview with Just the News, Steil expressed his intention to address two specific “loopholes” that his committee has identified as problematic: the utilization of anonymous gift cards for political donations and the absence of a requirement for Card Verification Value (CVV) numbers by Political Action Committees (PACs) such as ActBlue when processing contributions.
“We continue to get evidence that individuals have come forward and are noting that there are donations in their name that they did not make,” he said. “I’m of the belief that these loopholes that we’ve identified might be the culprit.”
