Federal Judge Blocks Texas Attorney General From Suing ActBlue

A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked the Texas attorney general on Thursday from suing ActBlue, the Democratic donor platform. The ruling prevents the attorney general from pursuing claims filed in April that alleged the platform allowed fraudulent and foreign donations while misrepresenting its donor-vetting policies.

U.S. District Judge Richard Gaylore Stearns sided with ActBlue's May counter-lawsuit. The judge wrote that the Texas litigation was filed in retaliation for ActBlue's fundraising on behalf of Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, who is running against the attorney general in November.

"The truth is plain and captured in Paxton's own declarations: The lawsuit was filed in retaliation for (and in an attempt to suppress) ActBlue's efforts to fund Talarico's campaign," Stearns stated in the 15-page order.

Background on the Dispute ActBlue has faced Republican scrutiny over its donor-vetting system. Critics have pointed to the platform's acceptance of donations without CVV codes and through gift cards or prepaid debit cards as potential vulnerabilities for illegal foreign contributions.

A New York Times report in April cited internal ActBlue memos in which company lawyers acknowledged that nonresident foreign nationals could have used third-party payment platforms to donate. The memos also warned that the company may have misled Congress about its foreign-donation controls.

During a House hearing on Wednesday, ActBlue's CEO declined to answer questions about foreign payments, citing Fifth Amendment protections. Congressional committees reported earlier that senior ActBlue employees invoked the Fifth Amendment 146 times during 2025 testimony.