The memo follows a Congressional investigation into ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s leading funding platform.
“Regardless of these laws designed to protect American democracy, the reporting and investigations by Congressional Committees have produced very nasty evidence that online fundraising platforms are participants in schemes that wash over and banned contributions to political candidates and committees,” said President Donald Trump’s April 24 memo.
Attorney General Pam Bondy has been instructed to investigate the claims and report all findings to the President within 180 days.
The new directive aims to protect democratic functions by targeting malicious activities that could affect US elections.
Democrats have pushed back the new order and allegations of fraud.
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“Donald Trump’s memorandum target ActBlue is designed to undermine democratic participation, so it’s no wonder why,” the party said in a statement. “As Democrats, we are united standing with millions of Americans fighting back against Trump’s dangerous abuse of power.”
A recent Congressional survey found that during the one-month period of the 2024 election campaign, hundreds of donations submitted to ActBlue’s website were submitted to ActBlue’s website.
Existing regulations specifically prohibit foreigners from making donations to elections in the US.
Other concerns include the use of so-called “strodeners.” There, money is donated using false names or stolen identities to avoid campaign finance laws.
Some victims of the scheme, who found their names on their donation list, took the information to social media and sounded an alarm.
Federal law prohibits campaign donations in the name of another person.
A recent survey in the House of Representatives shows that several contributions are divided into small amounts of donations. The Trump administration argued that it was an evasive operation to avoid federal laws that limit the amounts given by one individual.
Instead of scrutinizing activities to ensure compliance with federal law, ActBlue instructed its employees to “find a reason to accept contributions,” according to a House investigation.
The memorandum of understanding states that insufficient security standards for ActBlue and other websites allow unverified donations and fraud to multiply.
State Attorney Generals across the country are considering allegations that some contributions have been made using non-trackable methods.
“We’re going to revise the election so that the election is honorable and honest,” Trump said in a statement at the time. “We secure elections and they will be secured once.”
ActBlue did not respond to Epoch Times’ requests for comment before it was published.
The organization has denied fraud and vowed to tighten donation security protocols after Virginia and Texas began investigating the platform late last year.
“The investigation is nothing more than a scary tactic to undermine partisan political attacks and the power of democratic, progressive small-dordners,” the group said in an August 2024 statement.
