Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
Trump ordered the Attorney General to investigate online fundraising platforms and named only ActBlue
A presidential memorandum directed a Justice Department inquiry into “straw donor” and foreign contributions. It cites a House Republican investigation and names the platform Democratic campaigns use.
What happened
On April 24, 2025, Trump signed a memorandum directing the Attorney General, in consultation with the Treasury Secretary, to investigate “straw” or “dummy” donations and foreign contributions made through online fundraising platforms. It asks for a report within 180 days and tells the Attorney General to “use all lawful authority.”
The only platform the memorandum names is ActBlue, which processes donations for Democratic candidates. It cites 22 “significant fraud campaigns” and 237 donations from foreign IP addresses in a 30-day window in 2024. The figures come from a House Republican investigation. WinRed, the Republican equivalent, is not mentioned.
The 180-day report was due about October 21, 2025. No public report, charge or filing from the Justice Department inquiry has been found as of October 2026. House committees have continued to subpoena former ActBlue staff and lawyers.
Who benefited
Trump and the Republican Party saw their main opponent’s financial infrastructure placed under federal criminal scrutiny 18 months before the midterms. The memorandum gave Republican committees a talking point and potential donors a reason to hesitate.
Who wanted something
House Republicans wanted it: Oversight chairman James Comer, Judiciary chairman Jim Jordan and Administration chairman Bryan Steil had investigated and subpoenaed ActBlue. They supplied the figures the memorandum cites. Trump signed it alongside other actions targeting perceived opponents that week.
Who lost out
ActBlue and the millions of small donors who use it became the subject of a presidential investigation. Democratic candidates who depend on the platform lost the same footing. The norm that the Justice Department does not take investigative direction from the president against his political opponents was set aside.
Why it matters
A president used a formal directive to aim the Justice Department at the opposing party’s fundraising platform, by name, and left his own party’s equivalent out of it. The 180-day clock gave the inquiry a public deadline in the run-up to the midterms, and it has produced no public result.
Sources White House (primary)White House (primary)Fox News (reposted by House Judiciary Committee)Associated Press (via Click2Houston)