CITIZENS NEWS

AG Paxton requires Democratic PAC ActBlue to change security measures in order to prevent fraudulent donations

By bellecarter // 2024-08-13

Texas Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton announced on Aug. 8 that he was successful in requiring ActBlue, a political action committee (PAC) serving left-leaning and Democratic nonprofits and politicians, to alter its security system to avoid fraudulent donations. In Dec. 2023, Paxton opened an investigation into the major fundraising platform to determine whether its operations are compliant with all applicable laws. This came following numerous allegations of illicit activity of the PAC which included its failure to require that donors provide Card Verification Value (CVV) codes when making donations by credit card on the ActBlue platform. CVV codes, the three-digit security number on the back of credit and debit cards, are often required when donations are given for security measures and there were allegations that those codes were not required with ActBlue. "ActBlue has cooperated with our ongoing investigation. They have changed their requirements to now include CVV codes for donations on their platform," the PAC said in a statement. This is a critical change that can help prevent fraudulent donations but it is most important that we enforce the law and protect the integrity of our elections. According to Paxton's office, certain features of campaign finance law may incentivize bad actors to use platforms like ActBlue to covertly move money to political campaigns to evade legal requirements. "While campaign finance is protected by the First Amendment, suspicious activity on fundraising platforms must be fully investigated to determine if any laws have been broken," it added. ActBlue required CVV codes after the U.S. Committee on House Administration sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) about the matter. Committee chair Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wi), demanded in the letter that the FEC require CVV codes for political donations made with credit cards. "Following widespread allegations of fraudulent donations being reported to the FEC by ActBlue, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, this emergency rulemaking is necessary to reassure the American people that ActBlue is taking the necessary steps to protect its donors," Steil said as reported by Fox News. Meanwhile, AGs of Virginia and Missouri, along with Wyoming's secretary of state, likewise launched investigations into the political fundraiser's finances earlier this month. "The widespread allegations against ActBlue are deeply troubling and we must ensure that political action committees are following the Wyoming Election Code," Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray said. Virginia AG Jason Miyares added that "citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia deserve to know that nonprofit and political entities are financed legally and that entities operating in Virginia are legitimately and legally raising funds." As per the latest investigation on ActBlue of independent journalist James O'Keefe, he revealed that several Texas residents were allegedly unaware of how many donations they made to ActBlue, with some suggesting fraud may have occurred. One woman reportedly donated $33,000 over 484 days despite claiming she only meant to donate a few dollars. ActBlue did not respond to a request for comment.

ActBlue raised more than $40 million after Harris' VP running mate Walz was announced

As per a third-party tracker, ActBlue was able to raise more than $41. 3 million through donors on Aug. 6, right after Vice President Kamala Harris decided to choose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate – which Democrats claim as the "best day for fundraising" since the week President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign. (Related: Kamala Harris picks radical pro-riot Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate.) On July 21 and July 22, the day of and the day after Biden said he would only serve one term in office and endorsed Harris' campaign, the fundraising platform recorded $66.9 million and $67.2 million in donations. The surge in donations in the 24 hours after Biden quit the race was the single biggest for online contributions to Democrats since 2020, according to the New York Times. Another increase was noted at around 7:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday after Walz addressed a crowd during a rally in Philadelphia. He was joined by both Harris and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a rival and finalist for the vice-presidential nominee slot. At around 6:30 p.m. ET, while Walz and Harris were on stage, the Harris campaign told reporters it had raised more than $20 million since it was announced Walz would join the ticket. Critics argue that this was a good sign for Walz, who lacks some of the sheer star power and flush coffers of his former rivals in the so-called "veepstakes." Head over to KamalaHarris.news to read more stories related to the Harris-Walz 2024 election campaign.

Sources for this article include:

TexasAttorneyGeneral.gov DallasExpress.com QZ.com

First Amendment politics democrats election money supply Kamala Harris pac fundraising Ken Paxton Joe Biden investigations progress political campaigns campaign finance law FEC election integrity cancel Democrats security measure Act­Blue CVV code OAG fraudulent donations veepstakes