U.S. intelligence officials appear “clueless” about an alleged campaign money-laundering scheme on behalf of Democrat candidates now the subject of several lawsuits and soon lawmaker subpoenas, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson tells The Federalist.
For the better part of the past two years, the Wisconsin Republican has been raising alarm bells about alleged “smurfing” activities through ActBlue, Democrats’ online donation platform that has taken in millions of dollars for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. As Johnson notes in a recent column in The Daily Caller, the practice appears to involve hundreds, even thousands, of low-dollar donations made in the names of individuals without their knowledge. Some suspect the money is coming from wealthy foreign actors looking to affect U.S. elections — especially next month’s presidential election.
As Just the News first reported, Wisconsin conservative strategist Mark Block, who claims he’s a victim of the alleged scheme, names ActBlue in a recent racketeering lawsuit charging that unnamed participants have violated the Wisconsin Organized Control Act.
‘Straw Donations’
On Thursday, Johnson and fellow Badger State Republican Rep. Bryan Steil sent letters to the U.S. Treasury Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) seeking a classified briefing on “potential election interference through fraudulent donations by foreign actors.”
Johnson, ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Steil, chairman of the House Administration Committee, requested Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) related to ActBlue. They also requested that all three agencies provide classified briefings on the matter.
Steil’s committee has been investigating
