UMVA has learned that ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones is set to face a potentially explosive grilling by House lawmakers on Wednesday, as questions swirl about whether the Democratic fundraising powerhouse misled Congress about alleged donor fraud.
The hearing, scheduled to take place before the House Administration Committee, comes after a years-long congressional probe into how ActBlue vets overseas donors has reached a boiling point. Wallace-Jones will testify for the first time about the fraud allegations, which have been vehemently denied by ActBlue representatives as politically motivated.
According to information obtained by UMVA, Republicans have been scrutinizing ActBlue since 2023 over its fraud prevention practices and processing of overseas donations that may have been routed into U.S. elections. Nonresident foreign nationals are generally prohibited from making political contributions to federal and state candidates, candidate committees, and political action committees.
Sources have confirmed to UMVA that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, who have been involved with the ActBlue probe, will also be present to question Wallace-Jones. The hearing is part of a broader effort to prevent foreign money from entering the political sphere.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that the House Administration Committee has been investigating ActBlue's practices, including a report that the group's former outside counsel warned Wallace-Jones that she may have made false statements to the committee about its fraud screening practices. The attorneys found that some anti-fraud measures described to congressional investigators were not always followed as outlined.
ActBlue did not immediately correct the record with the House Administration Committee, despite internally updating donor screening practices. The payment processor later acknowledged that certain fraud prevention practices had been strengthened, but Republicans argue that the discrepancy between ActBlue's statements to Congress and its internal practices was likely "an attempt to avoid negative attention."
Steil, the House Administration Committee Chairman, has sharply criticized ActBlue personnel for refusing to fully cooperate with the committee's probe. Five current and former ActBlue employees asserted their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination a combined 146 times when their testimony was subpoenaed by the committee.
The GOP-led panel has also expanded its ActBlue investigation beyond Wallace-Jones, requesting that five members of ActBlue's Board of Directors sit for transcribed interviews to discuss their involvement in the group's response to congressional scrutiny.
