Missouri AG Opens ActBlue Probe After House Referral on Foreign and Fraudulent Donations

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Friday that her office has opened a civil investigation of ActBlue, the online fundraising platform used by Democratic candidates and groups, over suspected violations of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. The statute covers fraud, deception, misrepresentation, and unfair practices. Hanaway’s office said the inquiry follows a referral from the U.S. House Committee on Administration, which has examined ActBlue since 2023 with the House Judiciary and Oversight committees. Federal law bars political contributions from foreign nationals.

The attorney general issued a Civil Investigative Demand requiring ActBlue to produce documents, communications, and other materials by 10 a.m. Central Time on Oct. 8. Investigators will review whether any money raised through fraudulent contributions was sent to a Missouri political office, campaign, or committee. Hanaway said in a statement that Missourians “deserve a political system built on honesty and confidence that campaigns are not being financed through unlawful foreign sources” and that “political fundraising must never become a pathway to deception, influence, or special treatment.”

Her office cited reports that ActBlue’s donation-verification process may have been faulty or “potentially deliberately unsound,” and that the platform could have accepted money directly from foreign sources. Officials said they are also looking at donations made with prepaid or gift cards, a method the office described as hard to trace and one foreign donors have used elsewhere to hide contributions. The office said there is reason to believe some contributions were made under false identities or in other people’s names without their knowledge. Investigators are asking about resignations, terminations, and whistleblower complaints from employees who may have flagged fraud-prevention gaps. ActBlue is used by nearly 23,000 Democratic candidates and groups and raised close to $1.8 billion for progressive causes in 2025, according to the attorney general.

House Republicans have released interim reports alleging a “lenient” fraud-prevention policy, including instructions to give donors “the benefit of the doubt.” One review log cited in committee material described a donor with “all signs” of being from Canada who used a Missouri billing address; a supervisor recommended accepting the gift after checking a social-media account. The New York Times reported that former Biden White House counsel Dana Remus, then outside counsel to ActBlue, wrote memos after the 2024 election warning that the platform may have “knowingly and willfully” accepted foreign-national contributions and that CEO Regina Wallace-Jones may have made “false or misleading” statements to Congress. Wallace-Jones invoked the Fifth Amendment at a House Administration hearing. House chairs Bryan Steil, Jim Jordan, and James Comer have said their oversight continues.

ActBlue has disputed the core claims. A spokesperson told Newsmax and the Columbia Missourian that a third-party forensic review of 2023 political contributions found 99.99 percent of nearly $990 million came from donors who provided a U.S. address or a passport number. The group said Republicans are “orchestrating another political stunt while voting is already under way” and trying to “silence organizations they believe threaten their agenda.” The Missouri demand is a document request, not a finding of liability. Hanaway’s office said it will review what ActBlue produces and proceed on the facts.