After asking the Federal Election Commission to respond to the findings of Texas’ investigation into a Democratic Party online fundraising platform, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a criminal complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice. Justice.

After a nearly year-long investigation into ActBlue, on Monday, Paxton filed a petition with the FEC requiring it to implement new regulations to prevent straw donations from being made on online political fundraising platforms.

“Our investigation into ActBlue revealed facts indicating that bad actors may illegally interfere in U.S. elections by disguising political donations,” Paxton said. “It is imperative that the FEC close the avenues we have identified through which foreign contributions or contributions in excess of legal limits could be illegally funneled into political campaigns, circumventing campaign finance regulations and compromising our election system. I call on the FEC to immediately begin developing rules to protect our elections from any criminal actors exploiting these vulnerabilities.

On Thursday, Paxton filed a criminal complaint with the DOJ based on the findings of his office’s investigation.

The MPC investigation “uncovered evidence that bad actors are likely using ActBlue’s platform to make illegal campaign contributions,” he said. “It is illegal to engage in voter fraud and it is illegal to conceal one’s identity to flout election rules. The Department of Justice must take immediate action to prevent illegal conduct in our elections.

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Paxton said that “MPC’s investigation uncovered alarming evidence that anonymous actors routinely make contributions through the ActBlue platform on behalf of others.” This conduct appears to be criminal on several counts, including under 18 USC § 1343 (wire fraud); 18 USC § 1028 (identity theft); and 52 USC § 30122 (making contributions on behalf of another).

The remand also includes a copy of the petition Texas filed with the FEC.

Texas’ investigation into ActBlue began in December 2023 in response to allegations that the online platform potentially facilitated illegal campaign contributions. In August of this year, ActBlue responded to the findings of the Texas investigation by requiring donors using credit cards to provide “CVV” codes. The OAG determined that this was not enough to prevent the alleged abuses it uncovered, including “straw donations apparently made on a large scale using false identities, via untraceable payment methods.”

ActBlue claims to have raised more than $15.8 billion online since 2004.

As of the third quarter of fiscal 2024, we read that “6.9 million unique donors made more than 31 million contributions to 18,396 campaigns and organizations, totaling more than $1.5 billion.”

“This quarter was the largest in ActBlue’s history,” he said.

Last month, U.S. House Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. raised concerns with Treasury Secretary that ActBlue was being used to evade campaign finance laws, The Center Square reported.

The federal and Texas investigations were launched after U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, demanded answers from the FEC in April 2023 about ActBlue’s “schemes to collect illegal campaign donations.”

Rubio quoted reports indicate that “many people, including seniors, allegedly donated to ActBlue thousands of times a year,” but many “had no idea their names and addresses were being used to donate thousands of dollars In political donations, most of them” donations go to ActBlue. It’s no surprise that ActBlue serves as a vehicle for fraud, given the intentional lack of security rooted in their donation processes and systems.

ActBlue argues small donations represent “a new standard for grassroots political engagement.” Donors across the country demonstrated incredible generosity and a new sense of energy and momentum in electing Democrats up and down the ballot.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, disagrees: adage Thursday, “There is now growing evidence that illicit foreign donors are using the corrupt Democratic donor platform ActBlue to exploit campaign finance loopholes and make donations in people’s names without their knowledge.”

He also launched a website, CheckMyDonation.orgallowing Americans to search their names to determine if they were used to make political donations to Democratic candidates without their knowledge.