Complaints Ask FEC, FCC To Investigate ABC For Breaking Broadcast And Donation Rules In Debate
Broadcasters must present debates in the public interest, and corporations can't donate to campaigns.
Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission on Monday requesting it adopt new rules to curb potential donation fraud, the New York Post reported.
The request comes amid allegations that ActBlue Charities Inc., a Democratic fundraising platform, has accepted at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent donations, prompting some to question whether the platform is involved in a money-laundering scheme, Blaze News previously reported.
'Illegal and malicious conduct have no place in our elections.'
Independent journalists uncovered a long list of questionable and suspicious donations, including one individual who donated more than 20,000 times since 2019, according to FEC records. James O'Keefe interviewed some individuals listed as having donated "thousands of times per year."
O'Keefe shared the findings in a post on X, stating, "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 year. When asked if she donated $18,850 to ActBlue, Nowe tells [O'Keefe Media Group], 'No, I don't think so.'"
ActBlue is gathering campaign donations on behalf of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. According to recent reports, she raised more than $200 million in one week.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares was the first AG to announce that his office plans to look into the allegations against ActBlue. Attorneys general in Missouri and Wyoming have also opened inquiries in light of the accusations.
Steil wrote to the FEC, "Following widespread allegations of fraudulent donations being reported to the FEC by ActBlue, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, this emergency rule-making is necessary to reassure the American people that ActBlue is taking the necessary steps to protect its donors."
He called for the FEC to enact a new rule that would require fundraising platforms to verify the Card Verification Value of credit cards and address information. Additionally, Steil is pushing for the FEC to put an end to gift-card donations, which he said could be used to facilitate foreign straw donations.
"Illegal and malicious conduct have no place in our elections. Ensuring all parties are complying with federal election law as we approach a presidential election is of utmost importance," Steil continued. "Allowing political committees to accept donations from gift cards or other prepaid credit cards promote the appearance and the very real possibility that straw donors are making campaign donations with funds provided by another person or an unlawful donor including a foreign national."
He noted that the issues pose "a serious loophole to the transparency and integrity of the campaign donation process."
ActBlue recently told Newsweek, "This investigation is nothing more than a partisan political attack and scare tactic to undermine the power of Democratic and progressive small-dollar donors. We welcome the opportunity to respond to these frivolous claims."
The fundraising platform did not respond to a request for comment from the Post.
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A former police officer received a slap on the wrist after pleading guilty Monday to orchestrating a straw donation scheme to help Eric Adams' (D) mayoral campaign.
Dwayne Montgomery pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, a class A misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail, according to a copy of the plea agreement obtained by Politico.
As part of the deal, Montgomery admitted to conspiring with others to make an "illegal contribution to the Eric Adams 2021 Mayoral Campaign… which disguised the true source of the funds being contributed," it read. Montgomery "directed straw donors to make contributions to the Campaign, and the funds for the contributions were reimbursed by the Defendant and others."
The former New York Police Department deputy inspector confessed to "direct[ing] and aid[ing] others to structure campaign contributions by utilizing straw donors, with the intention of triggering matching funds by submitting falsified campaign contribution forms to the New York City Campaign Finance Board."
Montgomery used the mobile payment service Cash App to transfer "$260 to Straw Donor-6" on August 14, 2020. After the money was transferred, Montgomery instructed the straw donor to contribute $260 to Adams' campaign.
In exchange for Montgomery pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg agreed to recommend that he "be sentenced to a conditional discharge" that would allow him to "complete two-hundred hours of community service and pay a fine of $500" to satisfy the indictment.
Montgomery will spend the 200 hours of community service as an "instructor, consultant, and hands-on participant with BKLYN Combine, a community-based organization that provides educational, leadership, and social support programs to teens and young adults in African-American communities throughout New York City."
Montgomery has also been banned from organizing or hosting political fundraisers for one year.
Adams is also a former NYPD officer whose time with the department overlapped with Montgomery's.
Evan Thies, a 2021 Adams campaign representative, previously stated, "Montgomery was a colleague of the mayor in the police department whom he knew socially and worked on criminal justice issues with. Dozens of former police officers and criminal justice advocates hosted events for the mayor over the course of the campaign."
During a Monday press conference, Adams reiterated that his campaign was neither involved nor aware of the straw donation plot, Politico reported.
"I think the DA clearly reported that there was nothing our campaign did that was a part of what was done wrong. I say let the DA handle the situation," Adams said.
He noted that his campaign's vetting process included "spending thousands of dollars on a compliance attorney, who matched signature, who matched information and made sure things were done with the level of scrutiny they deserved. And we returned back tens of thousands of donations that did not follow that muster. And so the campaign did its job."
Montgomery's attorney did not respond to a request for comment from Politico.
Chinese billionaire Hui Qin pleaded guilty last month to participating in a straw donation plot, Blaze News previously reported. According to the Department of Justice, he made $11,600 in illegal donations to New York and Rhode Island political campaigns. A source familiar with the case told the New York Times that some of his donations were made to Adams' campaign.
Vito Pitta, Adams' lawyer for his 2021 mayoral campaign, stated, "As the federal government made clear today, the campaign had no knowledge of a straw donor scheme — and no member of the campaign has been charged with or accused of any wrongdoing."
Adams' campaign is also being investigated for allegedly receiving illegal donations from the government of Turkey, the Times reported. The Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the homes of Adams' top fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, and the mayor's director of Asian affairs, Winnie Greco.
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