The Sconi

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson and Congressman Bryan Steil have formally requested classified briefings from the U.S. Treasury Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) concerning potential foreign interference in U.S. elections through fraudulent donations. The lawmakers sent letters to these agencies seeking information on possible election meddling by foreign actors using financial contributions.

The request highlights concerns about "potential illicit election funding by foreign actors," as stated in their letter. They emphasized their roles as Chairman of the Committee on House Administration and Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, both responsible for overseeing federal elections.

The letters mention an ongoing investigation into claims that foreign entities from countries such as Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and China might be exploiting ActBlue to channel illicit funds into U.S. political campaigns via straw donations without donor consent.

Background information reveals that in April 2023, Senator Johnson addressed a video released by O’Keefe Media Group alleging unauthorized large-scale political donations. The Federal Election Commission has not confirmed any investigation into these claims.

Further scrutiny arose after reports surfaced in October 2023 regarding ActBlue's acceptance of contributions without card verification value (CVV). Congressman Steil questioned ActBlue's compliance with campaign finance laws in response to these reports.

In September 2024, Steil introduced H.R. 9488, known as the Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations (SHIELD) Act. This legislation aims to tighten regulations on online political contributions by requiring CVV and billing address verification and banning prepaid card donations.

The SHIELD Act passed the Committee on House Administration on September 11, 2024. Subsequently, Steil updated Attorneys General from several states about the ongoing investigation into ActBlue's practices, providing them with data collected over nearly a year.