Blumenthal Presses Trump Administration on Politically Motivated Targeting of ActBlue

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), yesterday wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding President Trump’s executive order targeting ActBlue, an online fundraising platform primarily used by Democrats. In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Blumenthal pointed out the singular focus of the President’s order, which ignores comparable—and in some instances, greater—irregularities on WinRed, the equivalent Republican platform.

In order to better understand whether the DOJ intends to launch a politically motivated investigation that is in violation of the First Amendment, Blumenthal is requesting all communications between the DOJ and the White House relating to President Trump’s executive order and all records referring or related to existence of financial irregularities on political fundraising platforms regardless of political viewpoint, including WinRed.

“While any serious concern about financial misconduct in political fundraising merits scrutiny, publicly available reporting and evidence produced in the nearly two years of Republican-led investigations thus far overwhelmingly suggest that the investigation into ActBlue is being driven by partisan motives. Indeed, evidence collected by PSI and other sources shows that the rate and scope of financial irregularities on WinRed equal or exceed those cited as justification to investigate ActBlue,” Blumenthal wrote.

Pointing to evidence in public reports as well as information on financial irregularities involving WinRed obtained through Congressional Republicans’ own investigation into ActBlue, Blumenthal continued, “If the Department of Justice intends to investigate potential abuses on ActBlue’s platform based on incidental irregularities, then basic principles of impartial justice require that WinRed be subjected to equal scrutiny. To do otherwise would reflect not a neutral application of the law, but a selective and unconstitutional effort to target political opposition.”

“The integrity of our democracy depends on impartial law enforcement—not the selective persecution of political opponents. Should the Department proceed with the investigation proposed by President Trump, equal application of that scrutiny across the political spectrum is not only a matter of fairness, but a constitutional imperative,” Blumenthal concluded.

The full text of Blumenthal’s letter is available here and below.

Dear Attorney General Bondi:

President Trump’s April 24, 2025, Memorandum titled “Investigation into Unlawful ‘Straw Donor’ and Foreign Contributions in American Elections” calls for an investigation into potential abuses of online political fundraising platforms—yet names only ActBlue, a platform primarily used by Democratic candidates.   This singular focus follows years of overtly partisan inquiries targeting ActBlue by Republican-led congressional committees, and ignores mounting public evidence of comparable—and in some instances, greater—irregularities on WinRed, the equivalent Republican platform.

While any serious concern about financial misconduct in political fundraising merits scrutiny, publicly available reporting and evidence produced in the nearly two years of Republican-led investigations thus far overwhelmingly suggest that the investigation into ActBlue is being driven by partisan motives.  Indeed, evidence collected by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (“PSI” or “the Subcommittee”) and other sources shows that the rate and scope of financial irregularities on WinRed equal or exceed those cited as justification to investigate ActBlue.

If the Department of Justice intends to investigate potential abuses on ActBlue’s platform based on incidental irregularities, then basic principles of impartial justice require that WinRed be subjected to equal scrutiny.  To do otherwise would reflect not a neutral application of the law, but a selective and unconstitutional effort to target political opposition.

Congressional Republicans’ own partisan review regarding ActBlue indicates that contributions made on WinRed show financial irregularities. Although selectively focused on ActBlue, [redacted].

Further, an April 2025 review of Federal Election Commission data by the Idaho Tribune found anomalies on WinRed, identifying “dozens, if not hundreds, of retired, elderly Idahoans” listed as giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican political campaigns without any identifiable source of income.   And Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) data compiled by CNN demonstrates that consumers have raised significantly more concerns about financial irregularities on WinRed than on ActBlue, with 803 complaints filed against WinRed from January 2022 through June 2024 in contrast to 120 FTC complaints filed against ActBlue during the same timeframe.

Your currently skewed selective focus on only one organization—potentially impacting free expression—raises serious constitutional concerns.  An investigation limited to ActBlue despite equivalent or stronger facts like those provided about WinRed would constitute a clear violation of the First Amendment.  The Supreme Court has long recognized that political contributions are a form of protected speech.   Targeting a fundraising platform because of its viewpoint is classic viewpoint discrimination.   Selective enforcement of the law in a way that punishes only political opponents undermines constitutional protections and represents a grave threat to the impartial administration of justice.

To assist the Subcommittee’s understanding of whether President Trump has asked the Department of Justice to launch an unconstitutional, politically motivated investigation, please provide the following records no later than July 7, 2025.

1. All communications between the Department of Justice and the White House referring or relating to the President’s April 24, 2025 Memorandum titled “Investigation into Unlawful ‘Straw Donor’ and Foreign Contributions in American Elections”;  and

2. All records referring or related to the existence of financial irregularities on political fundraising platforms, including but not limited to WinRed.

The integrity of our democracy depends on impartial law enforcement—not the selective persecution of political opponents.  Should the Department proceed with the investigation proposed by President Trump, equal application of that scrutiny across the political spectrum is not only a matter of fairness, but a constitutional imperative.

Thank you for your attention to this request.

Sincerely,

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