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House Formally Subpoenaed the Democrat Donations Platform on Possible Foreign Funding in 2024 Election

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House investigators have formally subpoenaed the Democrat donations platform ActBlue as part of its expanding probe into possible illicit foreign funding in the 2024 election. The subpoena occurred after the Treasury Department confirmed to Congress its money laundering detection system generated hundreds of suspicious activity reports related to the online fund-raising giant.

“Although Treasury has not yet produced any records, it is currently reviewing hundreds of potentially responsive records according to three video conference calls between Committee and Treasury staff since the initial request,” House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer wrote colleagues in a confidential memo Tuesday night.

Just the News reports that Comer’s committee, House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil and Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wis., recently requested access to suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed by financial institutions concerning money flowing through ActBlue, and “Treasury revealed this is one of the largest records reviews it has conducted this Congress,” according to the Comer letter obtained by Just the News and first reported by The New York Post.

Just the News adds that as Comer’s team awaited a review of the SARs, Steil’s committee sent a subpoena Wednesday afternoon to ActBlue demanding the massive fund-raising platform turn over records on how it confirms donors’ identities and endures no fraud or money laundering occurs with contributions going to Democratic candidates and groups.

“The Committee is compelling, via the attached subpoena, the production of documents and communications related to ActBlue’s donor verification policies and the potential for foreign actors, primarily from Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and China, to use ActBlue to launder illicit money into U.S. political campaigns,” Steil wrote in the letter to ActBlue CEO Regina-Wallace Jones.

The GOP lawmakers have asked Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to provide them access to any Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) related to monies passing through ActBlue that were filed by U.S. financial institutions as part of their money-laundering monitoring activities.

“We request that the Department make available to CHA and PSI staff all Suspicious Activity Reports (“SARs”) related to ActBlue, specifically regarding fraud, money laundering, identity theft, and the use of prepaid credit, debit, and gift cards in this context,” theJohnson and Steil wrote last week.

It also requested classified briefings on possible foreign money laundering into the election from U.S. intelligence and the FBI.

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Elections

IRS Whistleblower Receives Retaliation After Speaking Out on Hunter Biden Tax Case

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A whistleblower in the Hunter Biden tax investigation, IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, is facing harsh repercussions from the IRS after revealing alleged misconduct within the agency. Shapley, who gained widespread attention following an interview with investigative journalist Catherine Herridge, claims to be under intense pressure to accept a demotion or resign after publicly disclosing his concerns.

National Review reports on the recent developments, shared by Shapley’s attorney, Tristan Leavitt, reveal that the IRS had apparently been withholding a punitive decision until after Herridge’s interview went viral. “Less than an hour after @C__Herridge posted this story yesterday about the retaliation against the IRS whistleblowers, the IRS sent SSA Shapley this notice telling him he had 15 days to choose whether to be demoted or to resign,” Leavitt tweeted, noting that the agency appeared to have delayed this decision by at least two weeks.

On October 15, the IRS officially informed Shapley of a planned reassignment, notifying him he would be moved from his role as a Supervisory Special Agent in the criminal division to a Senior Analyst position—a demotion. Shapley was given the option to either accept the downgrade or, if he chose not to, request a lower-level special agent role or leave the agency entirely.

In response to the alleged retaliation, Shapley’s attorney sent a formal letter to Congress on Thursday. Addressed to House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and House Ways and Means Committee chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.), Leavitt’s letter highlights a history of punitive treatment Shapley claims to have faced since he first disclosed his findings.

“From the moment USA Weiss received access to SSA Shapley’s protected whistleblower disclosures and contacted IRS leadership, the IRS has treated SSA Shapley differently,” Leavitt wrote in the letter. He also added that “the illegal reprisal increased after SSA Shapley made clear he intended to blow the whistle to Congress and others. And it continues to this day, when the IRS knows it can retaliate against SSA Shapley simply by waiting out the clock for him to be forced into the position of resigning or being demoted.”

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is currently investigating the allegations of retaliation, not only against Shapley but also against another IRS whistleblower, Joseph Ziegler, who had similarly come forward regarding the Hunter Biden case. Leavitt has requested that the OSC intervene to prevent what he calls an apparent case of retaliation and has urged congressional Republicans to ask for a briefing on the progress of the OSC’s 17-month-long investigation.

 

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