Congress demands anew Treasury provide access to Suspicious Activity Reports involving ActBlue

The Biden administration failed to fully comply with a demand to allow Congress to review Suspicious Activity Reports involving the massive Democrat online fundraising platform ActBlue, prompting a fresh request Monday to the Trump Treasury Department, according to correspondence obtained by Just the News.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., made the joint request to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant seeking access to the SARs, which are required by federal law when banks suspect money laundering or other suspicious activity. 

The committees first sought the reports last fall, and Comer has said government officials told them there are hundreds of such reports. 

In their new letter, the chairmen revealed the Biden Treasury Department only let Congress see some of the reports.

“Although the Biden Administration initially stalled the Committees’ requests in its entirety for months, on January 2, 2025, Treasury allowed the Committees to review only limited documents,” they wrote Bessant. “We write to request Treasury, in its commitment to transparency and cooperation, provide both Committees with the remaining records relevant to our investigations.”

You can read that letter here.

Congress along with numerous state attorneys generals began investigating ActBlue last election, citing concerns the massive fundraising online platform, which claims to have raised $2 billion for Democrats and liberal causes over the last two decades, had not until recently used security tools like the CVV number on the back of credit cards to ensure donor identities.

The lawmakers told Bessant they were concerned that loose security might have led to abuses on the platform, including the flow of prohibited foreign monies into U.S. elections.

“Our Committees are concerned that the failure to properly vet contributions made through online platforms may allow bad actors, including foreign nationals not lawfully admitted for permanent residence or individuals attempting to evade individual contribution limits, to more easily commit fraud to illegally exploit and violate federal campaign finance laws,” they wrote.

For emphasis, they added the committees want to “guard against illicit foreign influence or other illegal activities in U.S. elections.”

In a recent interview with the Just the News, No Noise television show, Comer indicated the “small fraction” of documents the committees was shown by the Biden Treasury Department only heightened lawmakers’ concerns and determination to get access to all records.

“I think you are going to have a lot to report on ActBlue in the coming weeks,“ Comer said. Asked whether there is a foreign trail of money, he responded: “Absolutely.”

Back in December, Steil told the Just the News, No Noise television show that Congress likely will refer ActBlue to the Trump Justice Department for possible investigation.

“Once Pam Bondi comes in as attorney general under the Trump administration, we then have a partner at the United States Department of Justice to look at this, to do the investigation into bad actors, and to hold anyone who is engaged in this activity accountable,” he said.

In October, Steil and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, a fellow Republican, wrote to then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, then-FBI Director Christopher Wray and then-Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines about concerns that four U.S. adversaries may have donated through the platform. 

“We write to you to raise an urgent concern regarding potential illicit election funding by foreign actors,” the lawmakers wrote. “CHA has been investigating claims that foreign actors, primarily from Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and China, may be using ActBlue to launder illicit money into U.S. political campaigns.” 

They also said: “Our investigation has indicated that these actors may be exploiting existing U.S. donors by making straw donations without their knowledge.” 

ActBlue recently acknowledged to Congress that it has updated its donor verification policy to automatically reject donations that “use foreign prepaid/gift cards, domestic gift cards, are from high-risk/sanctioned countries, and have the highest level of risk as determined,” by its solution provider, Sift. 

The change occurred just three days after Steil introduced the Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations (SHIELD) Act, on Sept. 6, to ensure foreign money stayed out of online political fundraising. 

Before the change, Steil said, donations made with foreign gift cards were not automatically rejected by ActBlue, Just the News reported. 

ActBlue has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and says that it is fully cooperating with ongoing investigations. 

"Democratic and progressive campaigns have trusted ActBlue’s two-decade-long track record of innovation and dependability to deliver during big fundraising moments," ActBlue said in a statement in June celebrating its 20th anniversary in business. 

But last week, The New York Times reported that ActBlue faced “internal chaos” as “at least seven senior officials have left the group, setting off deep concerns about its future as it confronts scrutiny from congressional Republicans.”