ActBlue CEO pleads the fifth 22 times in Congress when asked about fraud, foreign donations

Established in 2004, ActBlue is the juggernaut of funding for the Democratic Party. It is the single largest fundraising platform that Democrats have in their arsenal, and it bankrolls many of their elections around the country, local and national.

The hearing centered mainly around concerns that ActBlue, under the tutelage of Wallace-Jones, may have illegally allowed foreign money on their platform and lied to Congress. The accusations lobbed at the organization stemmed from a New York Times piece that insinuated that Wallace-Jones had misled Republicans in a 2023 letter, insisting that the platform vetted donations and that foreign citizens were not illegally subsidizing the outfit.

The hearing comes amid a broader Republican-led investigation into ActBlue. House Republicans recently issued subpoenas to current and former ActBlue officials over what lawmakers have described as "widespread" fraud on the Democratic fundraising platform. According to subpoena letters obtained by the New York Post, investigators are examining the organization's fraud prevention practices, including allegations that ActBlue relaxed security measures during the 2024 election cycle and failed to adequately guard against potentially fraudulent or foreign-linked donations.

The embattled CEO, in preparation for the hearing, had published an op-ed in the Washington Post entitled “Why I will use my Fifth Amendment rights before Congress today,” where she explained why she was not going to provide answers to Republicans later that day.

Wallace-Jones labeled the hearing as “bad faith” and defended her choice to remain silent.

“Invoking the Fifth Amendment is not an admission, or even an insinuation, of guilt,” Wallace-Jones wrote. “It is not a retreat. It is the only reasonable response to a proceeding that from the beginning has been about harassing a political opponent’s fundraising platform, not genuine oversight. Now it has become something far more dangerous.”

The GOP oversight committee responded on X, saying: “ActBlue's CEO published an op-ed on why she's pleading the 5th today during @HouseAdmin's hearing. They allegedly allowed foreign donations to Democrats. They lied to Congress about it. Now they want to stay silent. We will keep digging for the truth.”

https://twitter.com/GOPoversight/status/2064700811733573926

Wallace-Jones kept her word and refused to answer any questions posed by Republicans during the hearing. Before question Wallace-Jones Ohio Representative Jim Jordan stated that the reason the hearing, led by Bryan Steil, was being held was because of the allegations made by the organization's legal team.

https://twitter.com/Jim_Jordan/status/2064716441945833888?s=20

When Jordan pressed Wallace-Jones specifically about foreign donations, Wallace-Jones staunchly refused to comment.

https://twitter.com/tpostmillennial/status/2065119554842382429?s=46

“Your board chairman said ActBlue accepted up to 38 million contributions in 2024 that had the signs of foreign origin. How much fraud is too much fraud?” Jordan asked.

"On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer the question pursuant to my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution,” Wallace-Jones responded.

“How many foreign contributions did ActBlue accept?” Jordan asked the CEO directly.

“On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer the question pursuant to my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution,” she responded again.

The unanswered questions continued as Jordan asked Wallace-Jones if ActBlue accepted money from Russia, which again she refused to answer.

In the more than one hour-long hearing, all questions regarding potential illegal activity undertaken by ActBlue remained unanswered.

Andrew Kolvet commented on the clip of Wallace-Jones, saying that the hearing was an "eye-opener that everyone should watch."

https://twitter.com/AndrewKolvet/status/2064734664334438419?s=20

The defense of ActBlue came not by its CEO but by Democrats in the hearing. New York Congressman Joe Morelle deflected scrutiny away from the embattled organization and directed it toward President Trump, accusing him of accepting “piles and piles of dark money from corporations and billionaires.” Morelle then attacked WinRed, accusing the organization of accepting money from a Chinese businessman.

Similar attacks were lobbed by Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin as he accused WinRed of taking advantage of its donor base.

https://rumble.com/embed/v78wqaa/?pub=2n05b