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Politics

ActBlue board member invokes Fifth Amendment in congressional probe

Kimberly Peeler-Allen is the third official from the Democratic fundraising platform to refuse to answer questions in a joint House inquiry into foreign donations.

The short version

  • ActBlue board member Kimberly Peeler-Allen invoked her Fifth Amendment rights during testimony before a joint House committee investigation.
  • The inquiry, conducted by the House Administration, Judiciary, and Oversight Committees, is reviewing ActBlue's fraud prevention and checking for potential foreign donations.
  • Peeler-Allen is the third prominent figure connected to the platform to plead the Fifth, following similar depositions by ActBlue's CEO and co-founder.
  • House investigators continue to seek details on the platform's donation screening practices and verification safeguards.

Key facts

  • ActBlue board member Kimberly Peeler-Allen invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a joint House committee deposition.[Fox News]
  • The House Administration, Judiciary, and Oversight Committees are jointly investigating allegations regarding fraud prevention practices and whether ActBlue permitted illicit foreign political contributions.[Fox News]
  • ActBlue co-founder Matt DeBergalis in August and CEO Regina Wallace-Jones in June also invoked the Fifth Amendment during their respective depositions with congressional investigators.[Fox News]
  • The House Administration Committee's probe into ActBlue started in 2023, focusing in part on whether the platform failed to require credit card CVV numbers to prevent fraudulent or foreign transactions.[Fox News]

What remains uncertain

  • The full scope of whether any foreign or fraudulent donations successfully entered campaign accounts through ActBlue remains unconfirmed by the committee's publicly released findings.[Fox News]

Sources