Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Friday sent a letter to ActBlue, the top fundraising platform for Democrats and liberal issues, demanding answers over the money laundering and fraud allegations levied by journalist James O’Keefe and his O’Keefe Media Group.
Miyares (pictured above) posted his letter to the social media platform X, confirming his office questioned ActBlue over allegations of “fraudulent, deceptive, and/or otherwise illegal acts,” including “hundreds of thousands of dollars of contributions through individual donors” in Virginia who purportedly donated “in volumes that are facially implausible and appear suspicious.”
He explained the allegations revolve around public records which indicate certain Virginians made thousands of donations using ActBlue, with some individuals’ total contributions totaling in the tens of thousands.
“Taken together, these circumstances appear to indicate that contributions via ActBlue are being made from fictional donors or dummy accounts, or that information reported by or through ActBlue may be fraudulent,” wrote Miyares, who also offered the possibility that donations were made “without the reported donors’ consent or awareness.”
🚨🚨 Breaking: I sent this letter to ActBlue demanding answers. The integrity of our election is at stake. pic.twitter.com/0gUhtmQlYY
— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) August 2, 2024
Noting that ActBlue is used by candidates for office in Virginia, the attorney general warned the donations could constitute violations of the commonwealth’s election laws, in addition to federal election laws if any of the donations went to federal candidates in Virginia.
Miyares demanded, “it is imperative that you provide my office with a detailed description of ActBlue’s processes and procedures for verifying the legitimacy and accuracy of donor and contribution information as well as the processes and procedures used in verifying information reported to regulatory bodies.”
The attorney general gave the Democratic fundraising platform until August 12 to respond.
O’Keefe, the founder of Project Veritas who began the O’Keefe Media Group last year, first raised allegations related to ActBlue in a March 28, 2023 report posted to social media.
“FEC data shows that some senior citizens across the U.S. have been donating thousands of times per year,” said O’Keefe. “Some of these individuals’ names and addresses are attached to over $200,000 contributions.”
These claims resurfaced in July when O’Keefe’s group posted clips from its 2023 reporting to the social media platform X.
“OMG visited senior citizen donors that FEC data alleges donated thousands of times per year,” the group wrote in one post. It added, “The results were shocking, indicating that ActBlue may be involved in a fraudulent money laundering scheme.”
Maryland Woman Denies 1,000+ Donations to ActBlue; OMG Uncovers Fraud Scheme
Cindy Nowe of Annapolis, Maryland, allegedly contributed over 1,000 times to ActBlue in 2022, totaling $18,849.77. That means Cindy would have had to donate three times a day, every day, for the whole… pic.twitter.com/0xTVOlcS1c
— O’Keefe Media Group (@OKeefeMedia) July 28, 2024
Miyares’ action comes after Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley confirmed the party views Virginia as “competitive” for former President Donald Trump in November.
“Look, we see Gov. Youngkin as a trailblazer,” said Whatley. He added, “I think it’s a competitive state, and we saw from Gov. Youngkin during his campaign back in 2021 how a Republican can win Virginia.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
