You may view and/or go away a remark for the FEC committee right here.
Final month, Texas Lawyer Normal Ken Paxton demanded a Division of Justice investigation into ActBlue after discovering proof of fraudulent donations being laundered by way of the group. The Gateway Pundit reported that Paxton had discovered a community of doubtless illicit donations that have been made utilizing false identities and untraceable cost strategies.
The ActBlue smurfing scheme was uncovered beforehand by the work of ElectionWatch.data’s Peter Bernegger and reported by James O’Keefe of O’Keefe Media Group. The scheme includes utilizing the identities of 1000’s of retired senior residents to “donate” usually 1000’s of occasions utilizing small greenback donations. When O’Keefe confronted among the bigger donors, they have been shocked to find the donations have been made on their behalf.
This scheme will not be solely identification theft, however it might additionally result in tax implications for the unsuspecting victims of this fraud.
After AG Paxton’s October 2024 letter calling on the DOJ to analyze and the Federal Elections Fee (FEC) to suggest rule adjustments, the FEC has sought public touch upon “contributions by way of untraceable digital cost strategies.”
The general public report states that the fee is in search of to undertake two amendments to 11 CFR 104.14 concerning the usage of bank cards to contribute. It states:
First, the petition requests an modification to 11 CFR 104.14(b)(5) to supply that information for contributions made by credit score, debit, pay as you go, or present card should embrace documentation confirming {that a} cross-check occurred between the contributor’s self-reported figuring out info with the cardboard issuing establishment’s personal info on the identify and billing handle of the cardholder.
Second, the petition requests an modification to 11 CFR 104.14(e) to supply that contributions can’t be accepted from pay as you go or present playing cards except the knowledge from these pay as you go or present playing cards might be cross-checked with the cardboard issuing establishment to substantiate the identify and billing handle required beneath the proposed modification to 11 CFR 104.14(b)(5).
The general public remark opened on November twenty sixth and can stay open by way of January twenty seventh, 2025. You may go away a public remark right here.
Within the wake of the overturning of Chevron Deference by the Supreme Court docket earlier this 12 months, these guidelines adjustments could also be challenged in courtroom. Or simply flat out ignored (ActBlue has since begun to require CVV captures on their web site, although).
Reasonably than depend on the FEC to make the rule change, Congress might merely go the CVV Act, launched by Senator Marco Rubio in February 2023. Whereas the invoice is solely one sentence requiring the CVV quantity be captured, as is the usual in any over-the-phone or internet-based bank card transaction, it has been sitting in committee for over two years and not using a vote.
The invoice merely reads:
A corporation shall not be handled as a corporation described on this part except, within the case of any web bank card contribution accepted by such group, the person or entity making such contribution is required, on the time such contribution is made, to reveal the credit score verification worth of such bank card.
Former Polish politician Piotr Kulpa alleged final week that half of the US help to Ukraine was being laundered again to Democrats in the US. This declare is supported by the investigation into the crypto platform FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
However even earlier than Kulpa’s declare, Peter Bernegger made related claims on the Why We Vote podcast. That’s that cash is coming in from China and Ukraine, by way of the US Treasury, and making its method into marketing campaign coffers. However within the course of of creating their solution to a marketing campaign, these illicit donations go by way of a number of NGOs and non-profits that each one take a 3.95% reduce, based on Bernegger.
With the Federal Elections Fee opening up public remark for a rule change concerning how bank card donations are processed (calling for a rule change requiring the CVV quantity captured), it’s value noting a pair issues that exemplify our authorities’s inefficiency as… pic.twitter.com/wYD6aC3Mvq
— CannCon (@CannConActual) November 29, 2024
Based on Ballotpedia, President Trump’s marketing campaign in 2024 raised the second-least quantity ($391 million) of any marketing campaign relationship again to 2008, whereas Kamala Harris raised the second most ($1 billion). Joe Biden’s 2020 marketing campaign was the best in that time-frame at $1.02 billion raised, adopted by Obama 2008 and Obama 2012 with $900 million and $800 million, respectively.
