Revamped Rant: Trump's crusade against Democratic fundraisers unleashed
Democrats' Digital Fundraising Strategies Under Attack by Trump
Here's a lowdown on President Trump's latest move to scrutinize online fundraising platforms that fuel most Democrats' political campaigns, focusing primarily on ActBlue, the Democratic Party's main grassroots fundraising instrument.
Trump's Executive Order: An Unveiling
In an audacious move, Trump drops an executive order that initiates a probing into ActBlue. Published on the White House website, this order alleges that "foreign nationals" might be utilizing fundraising sites like ActBlue to meddle with American elections. The order empowers the new Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessant, to dig for evidence of any shady business on such sites. It asserts:
...multiple sources and congressional investigations have uncovered some shady dealings by online fundraising platforms, involving laundering excessive and prohibited contributions to political candidates and committees.
The order continues:
It's been discovered that mischievous actors are trying to evade Federal regulations on political contributions by breaking down large contributions from a single source into many smaller donations, falsely attributed to numerous individuals, potentially without their awareness or consent. Reports also suggest that these "false_donors" are being made through "fake" accounts, possibly using gift cards or prepaid credit cards to escape detection.
Bondi and Bessant are now authorized to use any legal maneuvers necessary to investigate these fundraising tools for signs of foreign influence. Gizmodo reached out to the Trump administration for more deets.
The order also references an earlier probe by House Republicans into ActBlue that is said to have unearthed evidence of foreign-based fraud on the platform.
Comparing Coals: ActBlue and WinRed
It's worth mentioning that Republicans have their own fundraising operation, launched during Trump's first term. WinRed, introduced in 2019, is a for-profit fundraising tool designed for the GOP to compete with Democrats' ActBlue. The Trump administration vigorously promoted Republicans to hop on the WinRed bandwagon. However, this platform hasn't enjoyed the same success - or the same love from within the Republican party - as its Democratic counterpart. WinRed has even been singled out by Republicans themselves for questionable tactics used to rake in donations. The platform has faced probes by several state attorneys general over these tactics.
Politics at Play: The Bigger Picture
The investigation into ActBlue reflects larger concerns about election integrity and foreign influence in U.S. politics. As the election year nears, these debates between Democrats and Republicans highlight the political friction and differing opinions on how to tackle these issues. Democrats have requested Treasury Secretary records of any suspicious transactions related to GOP fundraising arms, including WinRed and America PAC, to highlight inconsistencies in Republican claims about election integrity.
Stay tuned (or tweeted) for more updates in this high-stakes political drama.
- The executive order issued by President Trump seeks to investigate ActBlue, the major fundraising platform for the Democratic Party, due to concerns that foreign nationals may be using the site to interfere with American elections.
- The order empowers Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant to investigate ActBlue for possible shady business practices, such as laundering excessive or prohibited contributions, using fake accounts, or breaking down large contributions into smaller donations attributed to multiple individuals without their consent.
- Gizmodo reached out to the Trump administration for more details on the investigation, while Democrats have requested records of suspicious transactions related to GOP fundraising tools like WinRed and America PAC to highlight inconsistencies in Republican claims about election integrity. The issue of foreign influence in U.S. politics and election integrity is a larger concern as the election year approaches, fostering political tension between Democrats and Republicans.
