The Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue filed a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in federal court on Friday, seeking to prevent him from launching an investigation and pursuing his own legal actions against the organization. ActBlue referred to Paxton’s efforts as “unlawful retribution.”
The complaint states: “Paxton’s decision to use his government office to target ActBlue with legal sanctions as retribution for its protected speech and political association is an affront to the Constitution and must not be tolerated.”
Paxton’s lawsuit against ActBlue accuses the platform of widespread donor fraud and seeks over $1 million in damages as congressional Republicans accelerate their own investigation into the organization. The filing, submitted in Tarrant County Court, references recent reporting on ActBlue that led Republican committee chairmen to assert the platform made misleading statements about its fraud prevention practices.
ActBlue also claims it resumed accepting prepaid debit cards despite prior warnings that such transactions pose significant risks of unlawful contributions from foreign nationals and ineligible individuals. The lawsuit states: “Among other misrepresentations, despite knowing — and representing to regulators — that resuming its acceptance of gift cards would open the door to election influence ‘from high-risk/sanctioned countries’ and enable foreign nationals and other ineligible persons to make unlawful contributions to federal and state candidates, ActBlue went back to accepting them.”
ActBlue contends Paxton’s lawsuit is an attempt to intimidate and harass political opponents, violating the First Amendment. The organization further asserts that his legal actions contain “false and inflammatory allegations,” noting that its security systems repeatedly blocked efforts to use gift cards on its platform.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is currently in a Republican runoff against Senator John Cornyn, with the winner facing Democrat James Talarico. ActBlue alleges that Paxton initiated his investigation following a statement by Talarico about raising more than $2 million within 24 hours through the platform.
The lawsuits follow escalating efforts by House Republicans to scrutinize ActBlue, which they claim has failed to provide requested documents and is in noncompliance with subpoenas. In a letter sent Tuesday to ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones, Republican chairmen of the House Administration, Judiciary, and Oversight committees expressed concerns about the organization’s internal practices and transparency.
