Republicans zero in on key player accused of helping Democrat fundraising giant hide foreign cash

House Republicans are pressing forward with their investigation into ActBlue, the Democratic Party's primary fundraising platform, following a report suggesting employees approved donations despite unresolved questions about their source. Committee chairmen James Comer, Jim Jordan and Bryan Steil have called ActBlue attorney Ronald Machen in for a closed-door interview before October 9, arguing that information he gave investigators conflicts with other evidence the committees have gathered, particularly around how ActBlue confirms donors are U.S. citizens, according to Fox News.

The dispute centers on a September 11 briefing in which Machen addressed Congress about the accuracy of earlier statements from ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones concerning the company's donor and passport verification procedures. In their letter, the chairmen characterized that briefing as an attempt to gloss over both ActBlue's shortcomings and misstatements they say Wallace-Jones made to the House Administration Committee. Wallace-Jones herself invoked her Fifth Amendment right during a June hearing on the platform.

ActBlue processes contributions for numerous Democratic campaigns, including those of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, along with party leadership in both chambers. Republicans have accused the platform for some time of weak safeguards against improper donations, a claim ActBlue disputes, saying it has tightened its processes since the GOP inquiry began. The recent findings, first brought to light by Fox News Digital, renewed scrutiny of whether those safeguards were adequately enforced.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →