Democrats' Online Fundraising Platforms Face Criticism from Trump
Scoop! Trump's New Crusade: Going After Democratic Campaign Fundraisers
Listen up folks, 'cause here's the lowdown on the latest political drama stirred up by President Trump. ol' PDT has set his sights on the online fundraising sites that fuel the majority of Democratic political campaigns, specifically targeting ActBlue, the Dems' go-to grassroots fundraising tool.
On a Thursday,, Trump's administration dropped an executive order that kicks off a probe into ActBlue, claiming that "foreign nationals" might be using these fundraising platforms to contribute to U.S. elections. The order gives new Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant the green light to dig for evidence of wrongdoing on these fundraising sites. The order states:
...there's some seriously worrying evidence that online fundraising sites have been cheerleaders in schemes to launder excessive and forbidden contributions to political candidates and committees.
The order continues:
This evidence suggests that sneaky bad actors could be evading federal contribution limits by breaking down massive contributions from a single source into hundreds of smaller contributions, attributed to numerous other individuals, without their consent or knowledge. The reports also hint at these "straw donations" being made through dummy accounts, potentially using gift cards or prepaid credit cards to dodge detection.
The order authorizes Bondi and Bessant to deploy "all legal power, as needed, to investigate" these fundraising tools for signs of foreign influence. Gizmodo reached out to the Trump administration for more deets.
The order mentions a previous investigation by House Republicans into ActBlue that purportedly found evidence of fraud on the platform by foreign entities.
Now, it's worth mentioning that Republicans have their own fundraising game, the Republican-born WinRed, which launched during Trump's first term in 2019 as a for-profit fundraising tool. The GOP's aim was to compete with the Democrats' ActBlue. The Trump administration has been pushing Republicans to use WinRed, which hasn't been as successful as its Democratic counterpart and has drawn criticism from Republicans themselves. WinRed has been scrutinized by several state attorneys general for its fundraising tactics [1].
Enrichment Data:- Yes, the Trump administration has initiated an investigation into potential violations of campaign finance laws involving online fundraising platforms, including ActBlue. The investigation's focus is on allegations of foreign funding and "straw donor" schemes regarding U.S. elections. The probe is based on evidence unearthed by previous congressional investigations and press reports [1][2][3].- ActBlue has maintained its compliance with federal laws, arguing that it promotes democratic participation. Democrats see the investigation as an attack on their fundraising efforts [3].
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/us/politics/actblue-trump-investigation.html[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/27/actblue-trump-campaign-finance-lawyers-it/[3] https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/554488-trump-signs-executive-order-targeting-actblue-over-fundraising-concerns
- The investigation led by the Trump administration targets online fundraising sites, such as ActBlue, for potential violations of campaign finance laws.
- The concern is foreign entities may be Using these platforms to contribute to U.S. elections.
- The order authorizes Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant to investigate these sites for evidence of wrongdoing, including "straw donations" made through dummy accounts.
- Gizmodo reported that Republicans have their own fundraising platform, WinRed, which has faced criticism for its fundraising tactics and has been scrutinized by several state attorneys general.
- The Trump administration has been encouraging Republicans to use WinRed, but it has not been as successful as ActBlue.
- Democrats view the investigation into ActBlue as an attack on their funding efforts for political campaigns.
