Three House committees issued a joint subpoena to Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue on Tuesday, accusing it of accepting “fraudulent or illegal” donations on behalf of left-wing candidates and obstructing an ongoing congressional investigation.
“In light of allegations that online fundraising platforms… have accepted fraudulent donations from domestic and foreign sources, the Committees are conducting oversight to inform potential legislative reforms,” lawmakers wrote in a letter to ActBlue.
The subpoena effort is being led by House Administration Chair Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who said the platform stopped cooperating after initially complying with document requests made in April and May. Lawmakers said ActBlue “abruptly changed course” in June and provided no valid legal basis for its refusal to continue cooperating.
The committees began investigating ActBlue in 2023 over concerns about donation security, including its former failure to require CVV codes for credit card contributions—a policy that has since been changed. The probe has since expanded to examine potential foreign influence.
Last month, the panels subpoenaed current and former ActBlue employees for transcribed interviews, following an earlier subpoena to the organization in October 2024. The new subpoena, addressed to CEO Regina Wallace-Jones, demands internal documents and communications be turned over by August 12.
The letter also accuses ActBlue of making false claims that the committees were “improperly coordinating” with the Justice Department and offering a “feeble” rationale for halting cooperation. Lawmakers said they had no choice but to escalate to a compulsory process to obtain the records.
