Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Monday against ActBlue, a major fundraising platform, in Tarrant County, TX district court. The state alleges the organization engaged in deceptive trade practices by failing to block fraudulent and foreign political contributions.
The lawsuit claims ActBlue misled the public and Congress about safeguards intended to prevent illegal donations. According to state investigators, the platform allowed contributions through untraceable gift cards and prepaid debit cards despite public assurances that such methods were prohibited.
Possible Pathway for “Dark Money”
Paxton stated that the lack of identification for these payment methods creates a pathway for illegal election interference. “The radical left has relied on ActBlue as a way to funnel foreign donations and dark money into their political campaigns to subvert our laws and compromise the integrity of our elections [1],” Paxton said in a statement.
“The radical left has relied on ActBlue as a way to funnel foreign donations and dark money into their political campaigns to subvert our laws and compromise the integrity of our elections.”
— Ken Paxton
Joint House Report Findings
A joint report released by the Committee on House Administration and the House Judiciary Committee also detailed issues within the organization. The report revealed that five current or former ActBlue employees invoked their Fifth Amendment rights 146 times during depositions regarding fraud prevention failures.
It also noted a “mass exodus” of the platform’s legal and compliance teams following the 2024 election.
“Every member of ActBlue’s legal and compliance team appears to have left the platform after the 2024 election because of its ‘knowing and willful’ acceptance of illegal foreign contributions, and the subsequent cover-up [2],” the report stated.
“Every member of ActBlue’s legal and compliance team appears to have left the platform after the 2024 election because of its ‘knowing and willful’ acceptance of illegal foreign contributions, and the subsequent cover-up.”
— House Committee Report
ActBlue functions as a nonprofit technology platform that aggregates small-dollar donations for Democratic and progressive campaigns. It does not endorse individual candidates and charges a 3.95% processing fee on contributions to cover expenses [3].
ActBlue spokesperson De’Andra Roberts-LaBoo called the lawsuit a distraction from Paxton’s own legal issues. She stated the platform has done more than any other to prevent improper donations [4]. The state is seeking civil penalties and permanent injunctions to halt the use of high-risk payment methods.
Notes:
- ^Mack, E. (2026). Texas AG Paxton sues Dem fundraising platform ActBlue, alleging ‘fraudulent and foreign donations’ – Fox News. Fox News. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-ag-paxton-sues-dem-fundraising-platform-actblue-alleging-fraudulent-foreign-donations (go back ↩)
- ^Committee on House Administration. (2026). New Report Details Illicit Foreign Donations and Mass Resignations at ActBlue – Committee on House Administration. U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved from https://cha.house.gov/2026/4/new-report-details-illicit-foreign-donations-and-mass-resignations-at-actblue (go back ↩)
- ^Wikipedia. (2026). ActBlue – Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActBlue (go back ↩)
- ^Mack, E. (2026). Texas AG Paxton sues Dem fundraising platform ActBlue, alleging ‘fraudulent and foreign donations’ – Fox News. Fox News. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-ag-paxton-sues-dem-fundraising-platform-actblue-alleging-fraudulent-foreign-donations (go back ↩)
