ActBlue, the Democrats‘ primary fundraising platform, is under fire after Republicans on Capitol Hill demanded they turn over their records following a series of “red flag” transactions suggesting it laundered money from terrorists.
In a letter to the company this week, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) demanded ActBlue executives explain whether they were aware that donations were coming from third-party groups with ties to U.S.-sanctioned terrorists.
“I write to raise concerns regarding the progressive fundraising organization ActBlue – as well as its charitable arm ActBlue Charities – and credible allegations of the provision of fundraising services and payment processing for terror-linked organizations and nonprofits,” Issa wrote.
“As mounting evidence of ActBlue’s dangerous corruption piles up, it is imperative that the Department of the Treasury investigate whether ActBlue Charities had reason to know it was handling payments that could support terror.”
The donations in question included one from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and the George Soros-linked US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, which has been linked to anti-Israel student protests laced with antisemitism.
“Neither ActBlue Charities – nor its parent organization ActBlue – have any reliable process to vet users of their platforms for links to terrorism, simply ignore their obligations under the law, and are actively abetting this collaboration,” Issa adds.
“Terror financing is an extremely serious crime, and organizations cannot be given a free pass for failed due diligence, or worse, the enabling of terrorism.”
It didn’t end there.
Issa said the coordination between ActBlue and the two pro-Palestinian groups “may also constitute money-laundering crimes.”
“In addition, the flagrant inability of progressive groups to address the appearance of skirting a full range of our laws — or call out the evils of Hamas and the BDS movement — raises critical questions if the activities and coalition building of ActBlue and ActBlue Charities are in reality part of a wider commitment to financing and facilitating attacks on Israel and Jewish people in America and around the globe,” he said.
Last year, House Republicans subpoenaed records from the U.S. Treasury Department to determine whether ActBlue accepted fraudulent payments.
Meanwhile, the fundraising platform continues to face personal turmoil.
The mass exodus from ActBlue came following a letter from two unions representing the group’s workers to the platform’s board of directors.
The letter described an “alarming pattern” of departures from a group that was “eroding our confidence in the stability of the organization.”
“Those of us who work with our legal team in our day-to-day do not have clear direction on how to proceed with our work in their absence,” the unions wrote to the ActBlue board.
Megan Hughes, an ActBlue spokesperson, responded to the concern, saying:
“Like many organizations, as we undergo some transition heading into this new election cycle, we are focused on ensuring we have a strong team in place.
We greatly appreciate the contributions of our incredible team members and remain deeply committed to the success of our organization and our mission to enable grassroots supporters to make their voices heard.”
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Correction: Darrel Issa is R-CA. Second paragraph erroneously labels him as D-CA