When Matt Gaetz withdrew himself for Attorney General consideration and President Trump selected Pam Bondi as his second choice, many were weary.
Now Donald Trump has just assigned her the ultimate test.
And Pam Bondi just got handed the ultimate weapon to take down Democrats’ entire operation.
Trump orders major investigation into ActBlue’s suspicious foreign donations
President Donald Trump is taking decisive action to crack down on potential foreign influence in American elections with a bombshell move that has Democrats scrambling.
On Thursday, April 24, Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum titled “Investigation into Unlawful ‘Straw Donor’ and Foreign Contributions in American Elections,” directing Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to launch a comprehensive investigation into online political fundraising platforms.
The probe specifically targets platforms like ActBlue – the massive fundraising hub that serves as the Democratic Party’s financial lifeblood – and will examine whether they knowingly allowed “dummy” accounts or foreign nationals to pour money into campaigns during the 2024 election cycle, violating federal election laws that prohibit foreign interference in American elections.
A senior White House official told The New York Post the investigation won’t just stop at ActBlue but will extend to any suspicious online contributions that may have influenced recent federal elections.
In the memorandum, Trump specifically cited federal law (52 U.S.C. 30121 and 30122) which “strictly prohibits making political contributions in the name of another person, as well as contributions by foreign nationals.”
The President directed Bondi to “report back to me through the Counsel to the President within 180 days of the date of this memorandum on the results of the investigation.”
The memo is part of Trump’s broader effort to “secure” US elections, a promise he repeatedly made during his campaign before returning to the White House.
ActBlue’s shocking internal documents reveal troubling practices
What sparked this high-level investigation? Internal records obtained by the Post revealed that ActBlue deliberately loosened its standards during the 2024 presidential campaign, showing hundreds of questionable contributions – including numerous donations from “foreign IP” addresses.
Perhaps most damning, the documents showed that until last year, the Democratic fundraising giant didn’t even require basic card verification values (CVVs) for debit, credit, or prepaid gift card transactions – a standard security measure used by virtually all legitimate online payment processors.
Even more shocking, in the middle of the heated 2024 election year, ActBlue employees were explicitly instructed to “look for reasons to accept contributions” rather than scrutinize suspicious transactions.
A scathing 478-page report from House Oversight and Administration Committees staff concluded that “despite repeated instances of fraudulent donations to Democrat campaigns and causes from domestic and foreign sources, ActBlue is not demonstrating a serious effort to deter fraud on its platform.”
Hundreds of foreign transactions flagged during critical election period
Trump’s memorandum specifically referenced a recent House investigation which “revealed that a platform named ActBlue had in recent years detected at least 22 ‘significant fraud campaigns’, nearly half of which had a foreign nexus.” The President also noted that “during a 30-day window during the 2024 campaign, the platform detected 237 donations from foreign IP addresses using prepaid cards, indicating that this activity remains a pressing concern.”
These troubling findings have prompted serious concerns from Republican-led congressional panels about just how “widespread” fraudulent contributions might have been during the election.
ActBlue has been a financial juggernaut for Democrats, helping funnel a staggering $16 billion to left-wing campaigns and causes since 2004. The platform played an especially crucial role in Kamala Harris’ failed presidential bid, amassing $46.7 million for her campaign after she replaced Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Previous allegations and investigations already underway
This isn’t the first time ActBlue has faced serious allegations of facilitating fraudulent donations. Wisconsin GOP strategist Mark Block filed a bombshell racketeering lawsuit in October 2023, claiming his identity was stolen to make 385 fraudulent donations to liberal groups – including then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ super PAC.
Several state-level investigations were previously launched into ActBlue’s practices, but Trump’s new directive brings the full weight of the federal government to bear on the issue.
The presidential memo builds on Trump’s earlier executive order aimed at securing U.S. elections, which he signed shortly after taking office in January 2025. During his campaign, Trump repeatedly emphasized the importance of election integrity and pledged to combat all forms of interference and fraud.
Trump memorandum cites “troubling evidence” of fundraising platform abuse
In the memorandum, Trump made it clear that the investigation is based on serious concerns: “Notwithstanding these laws designed to protect American democracy, press reports and investigations by congressional committees have generated extremely troubling evidence that online fundraising platforms have been willing participants in schemes to launder excessive and prohibited contributions to political candidates and committees.”
The President specifically highlighted concerns that “malign actors are seeking to evade Federal source and amount limitations on political contributions by breaking down large contributions from one source into many smaller contributions, nominally attributed to numerous other individuals, potentially without the consent or even knowledge of the putative contributors.”
Trump’s directive states bluntly that “these activities undermine the integrity of our electoral process” and instructs the Attorney General to “use all lawful authority, as necessary” in the investigation.
The timing of Trump’s directive is particularly significant as it comes while Republicans in Congress are ramping up their own investigations into Democratic fundraising practices ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Attorney General Bondi will be responsible for leading the investigative team, with Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent providing consultation. The memorandum requires Bondi to report findings to the President through the White House Counsel within 180 days, setting a clear timeline for the investigation to produce results.
President Trump’s action represents one of the most significant federal investigations into political fundraising in recent memory and signals his administration’s determination to ensure American elections are free from foreign influence – a key campaign promise he made to voters.
