ASHE IN AMERICA — OPINION
Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced a run for Attorney General on April 7th, asking for donations to ActBlue to get her campaign “off to a strong start.”
ActBlue is currently under investigation for fraud and “possible terror-financing,” according to a New York Post report in March.
Griswold originally launched a run for governor, but she was immediately hit with a complaint for “campaign finance violations,” which her campaign initially lied about. From Colorado Politics in March:
“According to the complaint, when asked about the website, Chris Griswold, brother and campaign manager … ‘initially lied, stating it was definitely not their domain.’ The complaint said the Griswold campaign revealed it purchased the website only after learning that his email address was tied to the campaign’s email subscription.”
It’s one scandal after another with Griswold, and now she’s doubling down on ActBlue.
The House Judiciary released their report on ActBlue fraud at the beginning of April, showing Democrats’ proactively relaxed fraud prevention measures at two specific points during the 2024 election cycle. And their investigation isn’t over.
“This staff report is not the end of our investigation. We’re also asking for transcribed interviews with current ActBlue employees…and reviewing suspicious activity reports (SARs) of fraud on ActBlue.”
The relaxation of standards is important, because it enables “smurfing.” Smurfing is the practice of using people’s identities without their knowledge to knowingly launder otherwise illegal campaign donations.
Smurfing isn’t new. It goes back to Obama.
The New York Times debunked Obama’s “small donor” claims on November 24, 2008, “Study: Many Obama Small Donors Really Weren’t.” A study from the Campaign Finance Institute that showed that Obama’s small donors repeatedly donated in excess of legal limits (like smurfs).
But in 2012, the small donor talking points were back, and the Campaign Finance Institute had a new study that ignored the old study and supported the small donor narrative:
“Nearly half of the donors to Obama’s reelection campaign in 2011 gave $200 or less, more than double the proportion seen in 2007, according to the analysis from the Campaign Finance Institute, which tracks money in politics.”
The 2008 scandal was memory-holed, which is a stunning rebuke on journalism considering the scandal was actually being litigated during the 2012 campaign. In January 2013, Maggie Haberman reported that the fine on the Obama Campaign “for hiding donors” was “one of the largest fines ever” levied by the FEC. This was after the election, of course.
From the House Judiciary X thread on the new report: “Even before these policy changes, ActBlue staff were told to accept as much fraud as possible.”
Yikes.
When smurfing is caught, as it has been since ActBlue was formed in 2004, it’s referenced as “campaign finance violations” — but it’s actually a highly-coordinated portfolio of crime:
18 U.S.C. § 1956 – Money Laundering
18 U.S.C. § 1957 – Monetary Transactions in Property Derived from Unlawful Activity
18 U.S.C. § 1001 – False Statements to Federal Agencies
52 U.S.C. § 30122 – Contributions in the Name of Another
18 U.S.C. § 1343 – Wire Fraud
18 U.S.C. § 1341 – Mail Fraud
18 U.S.C. § 371 – Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
18 U.S.C. § 1028 – Identity Theft
18 U.S.C. § 1030 – Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
15 U.S.C. § 6801–6809 – Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
31 U.S.C. 5311 et seq – Bank Secrecy Act (12 CFR 21.11, 12 CFR 21.21)
52 U.S.C. § 30122 – Contributions in the Name of Another (FECA)
18 U.S.C. § 1028 – Identity Fraud and Document Fraud
There is a look-up tool at electionwatch.info to see if it happened to you.
Back to Jena Griswold, remember how she worked for Obama’s 2012 campaign as a voter protection attorney before returning to Colorado to work for Hickenlooper in 2013? Interesting timeline.
While Griwsold is doubling down on ActBlue, their employees aren’t so bullish.
According to The New York Times in March, “ActBlue, the online fund-raising organization that powers Democratic candidates, has plunged into turmoil, with at least seven senior officials resigning [in late February] and a remaining lawyer suggesting he faced internal retaliation.”
I wonder if that whistleblowing is related to the fraud probe and allegations that they relaxed their fraud prevention measures in the middle of the election cycle (twice).
Jena Griswold is using ActBlue for her campaign to be “The Law” in Colorado.
No one is above the law, right?
Ashe in America is a writer and activist. Find all her work at linktree.com/asheinamerica
