Chairman Steil Releases Findings from Subpoena of ActBlue

WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil (WI-01) announced the findings of his subpoena of ActBlue, a major Democratic fundraising platform. Documents turned over revealed that as of September 2024, ActBlue has implemented updated policies to "automatically reject donations that use foreign prepaid/gift cards, domestic gift cards, are from high-risk/sanctioned countries, and have the highest level of risk as determined," by its solution provider, Sift.

"While this is a positive step forward, there is still more work to be done to ensure our campaign finance system is fully protected from fraud and unlawful foreign interference," Chairman Steil said. "The documents provided to the Committee also confirm that ActBlue still accepted these concerning payment methods in July, a period when Democrats raised a record number of campaign money before implementing these safeguards.

As Chairman, I remain committed to preventing foreign funding in our elections and ensuring transparency for the American people. We must keep working to ensure that no foreign funds were illegally funneled into U.S. political campaigns during this election cycle. It is also critical that we enact lasting reforms to prevent illicit contributions in future election cycles. Advancing legislation like the SHIELD Act will permanently close these vulnerable loopholes and safeguard the integrity of our campaign finance system."

Background:

On October 31, 2023, following reports that ActBlue was accepting political contributions without a card verification value (CVV), Chairman Steil sent a letter demanding answers on ActBlue's practices, questioning if they are complying with federal campaign finance laws and preventing foreign and illegal contributions.

On November 27, 2023, ActBlue responded to Chairman Steil's letter saying it did not require a CVV in order to contribute on their website.

On September 6, 2024, Chairman Steil introduced H.R. 9488, the Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations (SHIELD) Act. The legislation prohibits political committees from accepting an online contribution unless the contributor provides the CVV and billing address associated with the card and from accepting online contributions from prepaid cards. It also adopts a top legislative recommendation from the FEC to prohibit individuals from knowingly aiding or abetting a person making a contribution in the name of another person.

On September 11, 2024, the SHIELD Act passed the Committee on House Administration by a voice-vote.

On September 18, 2024, Chairman Steil sent letters to the Attorneys General from Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Florida, and Missouri, updating them on the Committee's investigation into ActBlue, a major democratic fundraising platform. Along with the letter, the Attorneys General received the data and evidence that the Committee has collected over the course of almost a year.

On October 28, 2024, Chairman Steil sent a letter to ActBlue demanding documents and information related to the platform's donor verification policies and potential vulnerabilities that foreign actors may exploit to illegally participate in the U.S. political process.

On October 30, 2024, Chairman Steil issued a subpoena to ActBlue for 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.

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Permalink: https://cha.house.gov/2024/12/chairman-steil-releases-findings-from-subpoena-of-actblue