FIRST ON FOX — Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., demanded in a letter Thursday that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) investigate recent allegations “of fraudulent, deceptive, and potentially illegal behavior” on the part of ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform that’s hauled in millions of dollars in donations for Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign and its affiliated entities.
Tenney, who co-chairs the House Election Integrity Caucus, cited in the letter addressed to FEC Chair Sean Cooksey and Vice Chair Ellen Weintraub “significant public reporting on anomalous transaction activity involving hundreds of thousands of dollars.” According to the agency’s publicly available data, Tenney wrote, “numerous individuals have allegedly donated to ActBlue thousands of times annually.” However, “it was reported many of these individuals were unaware their names and addresses were being used to make thousands of dollars in political donations.”
The FEC declined to comment on the letter. Fox News Digital reached out to ActBlue regarding the allegations, but it did not immediately respond.
The letter noted ActBlue did not require a card verification value (CVV) number to complete a transaction, unlike most online platforms engaged in e-commerce. Relative to campaign contributions, Tenney said using CVV numbers “is an effective antifraud measure that prevents unlawful transactions that violate the Federal Election Campaign Act, 52 U.S. Code 30101-30145, and various state election laws.”
Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., is urging the FEC to investigate ActBlue. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Given the deliberate lack of security in their donation practices, it is unsurprising that ActBlue could be exploited for fraudulent activities,” Tenney wrote. “Recognizing that foreign actors use fake accounts to exploit donation systems lacking robust verification safeguards, most individual campaigns and political action committees (PACs) require CVV numbers to donate online. However, despite its widespread use among its online counterparts, ActBlue deliberately chooses not to require CVV numbers for donations, possibly facilitating fraudulent activities and foreign interference in our electoral system.”
Tenney specifically urged the FEC to investigate “anomalous transaction activity as it relates to donations to ActBlue,” and answer whether the FEC had already examined anomalous transaction activity or ActBlue’s lax verification processes. If so, the congresswoman asked the FEC to provide “a detailed summary of the results of that investigation.”
If not, Tenny asked if the FEC would “commit to investigating potential fraudulent donations to ActBlue, as well as the organization’s lack of verification guardrails”
The letter also asked whether ActBlue is “in compliance with federal rules as it relates to accepting online donations” and whether the FEC will consider the Committee on House Administration’s Aug. 5 request for “emergency rulemaking” to force campaigns to verify online donors’ CVV numbers.
Kamala Harris and the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, during a campaign event Aug. 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“As a founding member of the House Election Integrity Caucus, I take the safety, security, and integrity of our elections very seriously. Public trust in our elections has been eroded to historic lows, and Congress and our federal regulators must take meaningful action to restore this faith,” Tenney wrote.
On Monday, Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., who chairs the Committee on House Administration, sent a letter to top FEC officials urging them to “immediately initiate an emergency rulemaking to require political campaigns to verify the card verification value (‘CVV’) of donors who contribute online using a credit or debit card, and to prohibit political campaigns from accepting online contributions from a gift card or other prepaid credit cards.” The Aug. 5 request came in response to accusations that ActBlue is skirting campaign donation laws that allow for rampant fraud on the site.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, speaks at Girard College Aug. 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
According to his committee, whistleblowers who approached the panel in recent weeks have accused ActBlue of deliberately not using CVV numbers for donations to reduce the bar for verification.
As of Monday morning, however, a CVV number was required on the page accepting credit card donations for the vice president.
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Whistleblowers have also reported the receipt of a significant number of donations from retirees living on a fixed income, and hundreds of donations of $2.50 from the same individual, according to the committee.
The site has been used to raise millions of dollars for Harris as she takes on former President Trump in November.
Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
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