Internal Slack messages released by the House Judiciary Committee show staff at ActBlue, the online fundraising platform that processed a reported $16 billion for Democratic candidates and causes in 2025, approving donations despite clear signs the money may have come from outside the United States.
ActBlue is organized as a political action committee but functions as a pass-through pipeline for individual donations to Democratic campaigns. The newly released Slack excerpts, detailed in a thread from Townhall Media and a report by Townhall’s Amy Curtis, raise questions about how rigorously the platform vetted donors for citizenship and identity.
Passport ‘Verification’ Only Counted Digits
According to the documents, ActBlue told Congress that its passport verification process screens out foreign donors. But an internal Slack message describes a far thinner check: “We use some very basic validation – number of characters – to ensure that the number entered is a valid passport number, but we do not verify the information in any other way. We do not, for instance, check the information provided against a government database.”
A Missouri Billing Address, a Canadian Donor
One case singled out in the released messages involved a donor whose information pointed to Canada but who had used a Missouri billing address. Staff approved the donation anyway. The Slack message reads: “Its odd that all signs point to this person being from Canada but they used a Missouri billing address, but Twitter seems to confirm that they are a real person!”
Other examples cited in the thread include a donor verified based on having a LinkedIn account, and another whose IP address indicated they were located in Hong Kong, with staff noting only that “none of their other signals raise any eyebrows.”
Legal Counsel’s Warnings Deleted
The Slack records also show ActBlue’s legal counsel, Zain Ahmad, objecting to these practices, only to have his messages deleted by the company’s IT staff in real time. One message states: “Please stop deleting my requests. You are violating the laws and policies of our company.” The message was reportedly deleted five seconds later.
The records further indicate that outside counsel warned ActBlue’s CEO the pattern of approvals looked “knowing and willful” and advised her to retain a personal lawyer. Rather than heed the warning, ActBlue fired the law firm. Every member of ActBlue’s legal team reportedly left the organization within four months of the 2024 election.
The House Judiciary Committee’s release of the Slack excerpts adds new detail to ongoing questions about donor screening at ActBlue, which remains one of the largest fundraising conduits for Democratic candidates nationwide.
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