President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s primary online fundraising platform, for alleged violations of federal election laws concerning foreign contributions and straw donor schemes.
The memorandum instructs the Department of Justice to determine whether criminal charges or civil actions should be pursued against ActBlue. The directive follows congressional investigations that uncovered evidence suggesting ActBlue processed donations from foreign sources and implemented policy changes that potentially facilitated fraudulent contributions.
Internal documents reviewed by congressional committees revealed that during the 2024 election cycle, ActBlue altered its donation policies to make standards more lenient, encouraging staff to “look for reasons to accept contributions.” Prior to these changes, the platform did not require Card Verification Value (CVV) numbers for credit card transactions, increasing the risk of fraud.
An internal assessment by ActBlue indicated that the policy change led to an increase of 14 to 28 fraudulent contributions per month. Between September 2022 and November 2024, the platform recorded up to 1,900 fraudulent transactions. Additionally, the platform began monitoring potential fraudulent donations from several foreign sources, including hundreds of donations from countries such as Brazil, Colombia, India, Iraq, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia.
Federal law prohibits contributions by foreign nationals and making political contributions in the name of another person. The memorandum cites these statutes, emphasizing the need to protect American democracy from unlawful foreign influence and fraudulent activities.
ActBlue has denied any wrongdoing and stated that it complies with all federal and state laws governing its activities. The organization has pledged to cooperate with the investigation and defend its practices.
