OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
As a comprehensive congressional investigation into online political fundraising broadens, House Speaker Mike Johnson stated Thursday that he is concerned foreign adversaries like China and Iran may be laundering money to Democrats in this election — funds that have no doubt been used to aid Vice President Kamala Harris.
In an interview with Just the News, Johnson vowed that Republican lawmakers would take punitive measures against these overseas actors if the allegations are substantiated.
“This is a massive scandal,” Johnson told the outlet.
His remarks follow a disclosure from House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, who told lawmakers in a confidential memo that the Treasury Department has confirmed it holds hundreds of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) related to potential money laundering associated with the Democratic Party’s substantial online fundraising platform, ActBlue.
There is no indication that the Harris campaign is aware of or involved in anything nefarious. But ActBlue donations are obviously used to help Democrats election their candidates, including their presidential nominee.
Comer, House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, Sen. Ron Johnson, and 19 state attorneys general have been investigating whether the ActBlue platform is being exploited by foreign actors to mask illicit donations as if they are coming from unsuspecting and potentially defrauded American citizens.
On Wednesday, Steil issued a subpoena to ActBlue for records, stating that he has evidence indicating that China, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela may be misusing the platform. He is questioning whether the Democratic fundraising powerhouse has implemented sufficient safeguards to prevent identity theft and fraudulent donations, Just the News reported.
Johnson predicted Thursday that new information would be released, which “very soon everyone will have to” cover as a significant news story.
“My theory is that they’re taking money from foreign nationals, primarily Iran, Russia China, and Venezuela, and they’re breaking down the donations into smaller gifts and making it look as though these are, you know, this is a wave of new donors, American people, that are doing this,” Johnson told the John Solomon podcast. “And I don’t think it’s true.”
“These are all allegations,” he said, noting that nothing has been substantiated as of yet. “They’ll be investigated and have to be proven.”
Johnson said early evidence suggests there could be a “massive, massive operation” to move money from illicit sources to influence the outcomes of 2024 elections.
He recently took to social media to share a website where Americans can check if their identity has been unintentionally used to make donations through ActBlue or other online fundraising platforms. He mentioned that many people have reported suspicious activity with their identities after using the site.
“I’ve done this as an informal experiment with small groups that I’ve been in the last two weeks, and there are hits in every group I’m in,” he said. “I’m with lifelong Republicans, and they have no idea that their names and addresses are being used and assigned these supposedly small-dollar donations.”
ActBlue, which claims to have raised $16 billion in small donations for left-wing causes since 2004, has broadly denied any wrongdoing and stated that it is cooperating with the various investigations.
However, ActBlue has also acknowledged to Congress and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that it has not been utilizing CVV confirmation codes on credit cards to verify all donor identities prior to processing transactions, Just the News added.
Johnson expressed concerns that liberal actors might be involved in illegal fundraising activities from foreign sources or elsewhere.
“I think somewhere at, you know, liberal High Command, they made the decision like, well, you know that the benefit outweighs the risk. We’ll have a couple fall guys who will go to jail eventually. But you know, we’ll have this avalanche of cash, and we’ll make sure we win the election. They’ll never be able to unwind the results,” he said. “I mean, it’s very serious. It has huge implications for the country.”
Johnson expressed disappointment that senior intelligence community officials who recently interacted with Congress seemed unaware of the allegations or the existence of the Suspicious Activity Reports at the Treasury Department.
“If they ever made that available, I didn’t know about it. Nobody brought it to my attention. We had to do it in reverse,” he said, explaining lawmakers led authorities to the existence of the SARs.
