On Friday, journalist James O’Keefe posted a video to X of ActBlue (a democrat fundraising organization) donors denying donation amounts attributed to them in regulatory documents. The video has stirred questions of whether ActBlue is diverting large donations by falsely attributing them to many smaller donors.
BREAKING: Donors Across the U.S. Deny Massive ActBlue Donations Amid Attorney General Investigations
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) August 16, 2024
"He did not do $300,000 worth of anything in three years," exclaims Pam Fridrich, wife to Heinz Fridrich, when presented with FEC data by an @OKeefeMedia Citizen Journalist in… pic.twitter.com/TPqK9gUbFy
James O’Keefe explains that six state attorneys general are investigating ActBlue in Texas, Wyoming, Missouri,Virginia, and two others not named. In the video donors are asked whether they contributed the amounts on record, and they can be seen denying the claims.
In the Federal Election Commission data, $300,000 of donations were attributed to Heinz Fridrich in Florida. When asked about this, his wife Pam says, “He did not do $300,000 worth of anything in three years.” In Las Vegas, $111,000 has been attributed to Elaina Bulow, who denied giving that amount. “Not that much, not $111,000,” she said, responding to the claim in the government data.
From 2023 to August of 2024, ActBlue has received over $1 billion in contributions, with all external expenditures going to Democrat organizations. Biden for President has received over $70 million, Biden Victory Fund has received $62 million, with other donations going to Democrat congressional campaigns and DNC organizations. In this election cycle they have given over $620 million to federal candidates.
According to a press release in early August, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been investigating ActBlue since December of 2023. On August 8, his office “issued a supplemental civil investigative demand to obtain additional information relevant to the latest allegations regarding ActBlue.” Speaking to the substance of the suspicious activity, Paxton said: “Certain features of campaign finance law may incentivize bad actors to use platforms like ActBlue to covertly move money to political campaigns to evade legal requirements. While campaign finance is protected by the First Amendment, suspicious activity on fundraising platforms must be fully investigated to determine if any laws have been broken.”
Weeks ago, the newly-minted Harris 2024 campaign pulled in just under $50 million from small-dollar donors mere hours after she accepted Biden’s endorsement, according to ActBlue.
