ActBlue CEO Invokes Fifth Amendment 22 Times in House Hearing on Donor Safeguards

The president and chief executive officer of ActBlue declined to answer questions from House Republicans on Wednesday, invoking the Fifth Amendment 22 times during testimony before a congressional committee. Lawmakers asked the executive about a 2023 letter she sent assuring Congress that the donation platform required passport information for all processed contributions. Rep.

Bryan Steil asked whether she believed the letter was false or misleading when she signed it. The executive responded that she would decline to answer on the advice of counsel. The same response was given to follow-up questions about whether she knew the letter contained false statements and whether she considered correcting the record.

The executive had originally planned to appear voluntarily but her attorneys requested a subpoena on Monday. The executive wrote in a Washington Post op-ed before the hearing that she planned to assert Fifth Amendment rights. She maintained that invoking the Fifth did not indicate she had anything to hide.

Five former and current ActBlue staffers previously declined to answer questions during depositions, invoking the Fifth Amendment a total of 140 times. Steil said the committee provided the subpoena and that the executive had the opportunity to testify. ActBlue serves as the primary payment processor for the Democratic Party.

The hearing focused on whether ActBlue’s donor-vetting system allowed foreign contributions and whether Congress was accurately informed about its safeguards. The committee is examining whether foreign actors used third-party services to bypass documentation rules.