Republican Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Friday that her office is launching an investigation into ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s largest online fundraising platform, over allegations that it accepted fraudulent and potentially illegal foreign political contributions.
Hanaway’s office issued civil investigative demands to ActBlue seeking documents and information related to its donation-processing and fraud-prevention practices. The company must produce the requested materials by Oct. 8, according to the attorney general’s office.
“When political fundraising is compromised, public trust and the foundations of our democracy are put at risk,” Hanaway said. “Missourians deserve a political system built on honesty and confidence that campaigns are not being financed through unlawful foreign sources.”
The investigation will examine whether ActBlue processed fraudulent contributions that ultimately went to a Missouri political candidate, campaign, office, or committee, according to Hanaway’s office.
Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to U.S. elections, including to candidates, political parties, and political committees.
The Missouri investigation follows a nearly two-year congressional inquiry into ActBlue’s fraud-prevention practices. The House Administration, Judiciary, and Oversight and Government Reform committees released their third joint interim report earlier this month, alleging that ActBlue failed to adequately prevent illegal foreign contributions from reaching Democratic campaigns and organizations.
The Republican-led congressional investigation alleged ActBlue’s fraud-prevention policies were loosened multiple times in 2024 despite internal concerns about fraudulent donations. The committees also said ActBlue did not require donors to provide a valid U.S. passport when using its passport-verification system and that fraud analysts were, in some cases, instructed to give donors “the benefit of the doubt” when reviewing suspicious transactions.
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ActBlue has denied wrongdoing and disputed the congressional investigation’s characterization of its fraud-prevention practices.
ActBlue is a central piece of Democratic fundraising infrastructure, processing donations for thousands of Democratic candidates, political committees, and progressive organizations. The platform said more than 22,700 campaigns, organizations, and committees used it in 2025, when it processed $1.78 billion in contributions.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
