Bryan Steil

The CEO of the largest Democratic fundraising platform pleaded the Fifth nearly two dozen times Wednesday rather than answer questions from lawmakers. Her appearance came amid allegations that ActBlue misled Congress about alleged donor fraud.

Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, told The National News Desk, Regina Wallace-Jones initially volunteered to appear before his committee in May, but on Monday, her attorneys requested a subpoena for her testimony. Which he sent 24 hours later.

I was mostly disappointed because I was concerned that she would ultimately plead the fifth rather than answer the questions that we have,” Rep. Steil said.

His concerns came to life during Wednesday’s hearing. Wallace-Jones pleaded the Fifth 22 times.

Including eight of his own questions.

Did you weaken fraud prevention standards to increase donations on the ActBlue platform?" Steil asked. "On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer the question pursuant to my fifth amendment rights under the constitution,” Wallace-Jones responded.

The hearing comes amid an ongoing Congressional investigation into the Democratic fundraising platform. Including allegations of fraudulent online political contributions, illegal foreign donations, and lax security changes.

One of the most concerning documents that we obtained is actually that ActBlue shows that they reduced their fraud standards leading into the 2024 election. That is wildly concerning,” said Rep. Steil.

It also comes just months after a report published in the New York Times revealed multiple attorneys resigned from ActBlue after warning Wallace-Jones she may have misled Congress regarding the platforms vetting of foreign donations. Internal memos indicated that the multilayered verification steps she described in a 2023 letter to Rep. Steil were not consistently followed, potentially creating significant legal risks.

But we now know according to her own attorneys that that response was misleading or in fact just completely deceptive,” said Rep. Steil.

When asked for comment, ActBlue directed The National News Desk to an op-ed published by Wallace-Jones in The Washington Post just hours before Wednesday’s hearing. It reads in part, “Again, this is not legitimate oversight. It’s a coordinated campaign of political retribution. Wednesday’s hearing is the latest assault in that corrupt campaign.” But Rep. Steil said the investigation is moving forward. He, along with Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) recently requested documents and transcribed interviews with five ActBlue board members to find out what they know.

I remain optimistic that people want to come forward and come clean with the American people about what is actually taking place at ActBlue,” said Rep. Steil.

House Democrats also sent a letter to the CEO of Republican fundraising platform ‘WinRed’ on Wednesday, demanding he sit down for a transcribed interview and preserve all internal documents dating back to 2019. The lawmakers set a deadline of June 18th to comply.