On Wednesday, Bryan Steil, the Chair of the Committee on House Administration (R-Wis.), has reportedly now issued a subpoena to ActBlue, a prominent Democratic fundraising platform that has collected record donations for the Harris campaign.
According to a press release, the subpoena pertains to the platform’s potential to influence U.S. elections through illicit money laundering.
“We cannot allow foreign actors to influence our elections through campaign financing. The Committee’s investigation uncovered that foreign actors might be taking advantage of ActBlue’s inadequate security protocols,” Steil said in the letter
“To ensure that foreign money is not being laundered through ActBlue, we are requesting a series of documents and communications related to their donor security and verification policies. Preventing foreign interference in U.S. elections has been my top priority as Chairman and this next step in our investigation is crucial to achieving that goal,” he continued.
Steil has requested that the platform adhere to the letter’s terms by November 6.
This original accusation was made by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton last week, who accused the platform of failing to prevent “straw donors,” or individuals who use the money of another person to donate in their own identity.
Steil and ActBlue sent a series of letters dating back to October 2023 regarding the platform’s verification practices and the committee’s attempts to regulate them, according to the subpoena, which follows an investigation by the committee into the platform’s donor verification policies.
After ActBlue informed Steil in a letter that it was accepting political contributions without a credit card verification value (CVV), Steil introduced legislation in September to establish more rigorous verification procedures.
Although ActBlue had already consented to begin collecting CVVs in August, the legislation was passed by voice vote.
In September, Steil also sent letters to the attorneys general of numerous states, providing them with the latest information on the committee’s ActBlue investigation and data from nearly a year ago.
On Monday, Steil sent the most recent letter, in which he requested documents and information regarding ActBlue’s verification policies and any vulnerabilities.
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