WASHINGTON, DC - ActBlue has long been used as a funding mechanism for the Democratic Party. Now, along with the party it supports, the fundraising platform is in complete disarray, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
The Free Beacon, citing a New York Times report, reported that at least seven senior officials have resigned, and a company lawyer has alleged that the platform retaliated against him.
Congressional Republicans are in the process of investigating the platform’s security and fraud-prevention measures, including what, if anything, it does to block illegal foreign donations. The list of those bailing off the Titanic includes longtime ActBlue officials, including the associate general counsel and chief revenue officer. Their specific reasons for leaving have not been specified, The Times said.
The issues at ActBlue come as Democrats, particularly the “progressive” wing of the party, have been coming unglued, including last week at President Trump’s address to Congress. Days later, a group of female Democrat House members posted a bizarre video on social media.
ActBlue’s unraveling could be detrimental to Democrats. The group said it has long played an important role in fundraising for Democratic candidates at the national, state, and local levels. Since 2004, ActBlue has raised over $16 billion for Democratic campaigns.
An ActBlue lawyer, Zain Ahmad, was the only remaining lawyer in the organization’s general counsel’s office as of February 26, has alleged that ActBlue revoked his access to email and other internal platforms and deleted some of his Slack messages, The Times reported.
“Please be advised that we have Anti-Retaliation and Whistleblower Policies for a reason,’ Ahmad wrote to ActBlue. He has since been placed on leave, a source told The Times.
Ahmad’s allegations have been called “unsettling and disturbing” by two unions representing ActBlue’s workers, saying it was “part of a growing pattern of volatility and toxicity stemming from current leadership.”
Last week, the unions sent a letter to ActBlue’s board of directors, warning of an “alarming pattern” of high-level departures, saying that was “eroding our confidence in the stability of the organization.” The unions also urged the board to hire an independent investigator to examine “the current state of the organization and evaluate if our C.E.O. is doing her job in an appropriate, competent, and responsible manner.”
Comments