House Democrats are firing back at Republican attacks on their top fundraising platform, saying that in fact it’s the GOP’s own online fundraising sites that might be used as tools of corruption and foreign influence.
The top Democrats on the House Judiciary, Oversight and Administration Committees are asking the Treasury Department to fork over any evidence of suspicious transactions connected to a wide range of Republican and President Donald Trump-aligned fundraising platforms — including the Republican aligned small-dollar mega platform WinRed and the Elon Musk-affiliated America PAC.
Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) and Gerald Connolly (D-Va.)'s demand for “suspicious activity reports” is a response to Trump’s and the GOP’s parallel effort to turn the screws on ActBlue, the Democratic online fundraising powerhouse that Republicans have recently targeted over allegations of illegal foreign donations.
Small-dollar fundraising has become a powerhouse for political campaigns, even if it's dropped off in recent years, and the tit-for-tat complaints over suspicious activity on WinRed and ActBlue are the latest salvos in a legal and political fight seeking to undermine opponents’ engines of political participation.
The Democrats say their Republican counterparts’ focus only on ActBlue obscures similar allegations of corruption or foreign influence in those Trump-aligned entities. Notably, they are also asking for any reports of suspicious transactions related to the Trump family’s new cryptocurrency ventures, which have raised concerns about potential for abuse and influence-peddling.
“Despite Republicans’ professed concern for the integrity of our elections and the protection of our democracy from foreign influence, their partisan report conspicuously makes no reference whatsoever,” to fraud that takes place through Republican fundraising platforms and scam PACs, they write in the letter.
Suspicious activity reports, or SARs are filings routinely lodged with Treasury by financial institutions to flag potential financial crimes or corruption. Though the policymakers warn that banks over-report potential incidents, they have become an increasingly common weapon in congressional inquiries. For example, Republicans used the reportsas evidence of alleged corruption by members of the Biden family and to track a network of shell companies the Bidens used to conduct overseas business.
In the letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the three lawmakers say they’re seeking any suspicious activity reports related to WinRed; America PAC and Trump family cryptocurrency tokens, which they say are potentially rife with foreign influence-peddling.
The SARs, they say, will help inform potential legislation to safeguard American elections and strengthen anti-corruption laws.
The Treasury Department, WinRed and America PAC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The effort from Democrats comes as Trump last month directed the Justice Department to investigate ActBlue for allowing “straw donors” and foreign influence.
At the time, Democrats accused Trump of “trying to block lawful grassroots donations from supporters giving just $5 or $10 to candidates who oppose him while further empowering the corrupt billionaires who already control his administration.”
