ActBlue’s Passport Update Sparks GOP Claims of Donor Verification Failure
Republican lawmakers accuse ActBlue of failing to verify foreign donors despite new passport verification measures.
2 min read
Republican lawmakers have accused ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform, of failing to properly verify donors, even after the company updated its donor verification standards. The controversy centers on the platform’s passport number verification process, which has drawn scrutiny from the House of Representatives.
ActBlue Faces GOP Scrutiny Over Donor Verification
ActBlue has been accused of not maintaining sufficient standards when vetting donations, particularly from foreign sources. The platform’s attorneys claimed in a letter to the House of Representatives that the updated program would enhance security for contributions from overseas donors. However, Republican lawmakers argue that the changes do not address the core issue of verifying the citizenship of individuals making donations from abroad.
Passport Verification Concerns
One of the main points of contention is ActBlue’s passport number verification. According to reports, the platform’s system only requires the correct number of characters for a U.S. passport number rather than a valid code for a donation to be accepted. This has raised questions about the platform’s ability to prevent fraudulent or illegal contributions.
House Investigation into ActBlue Continues
The House Administration Committee held a hearing in June about preventing fraudulent campaign donations. During the meeting, ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones invoked her Fifth Amendment rights and avoided answering questions about alleged foreign donations and the company’s fraud controls. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), the chairman of the Committee on House Administration, stated that ActBlue’s new passport verification program only confirms the platform’s failure to properly verify donors from abroad.
Republican Lawmakers Push for Transparency
Steil emphasized that the new policy should have been in place from the start, stating that too many questions remain unanswered, including the source of billions of dollars raised through ActBlue. He added that the investigation into the platform is ongoing and that lawmakers will continue to seek answers for the American people.
ActBlue Defends Its Platform
ActBlue has claimed it is a “safe and secure platform” and has raised over $19 billion for Democrats. However, Republican lawmakers have warned that their investigation is far from over and that more documents and testimony are expected in the coming weeks. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) criticized Democrats for allowing fraud and accepting illegal foreign donations through ActBlue.
Source: Breitbart
