It’s been expected for some time that President Trump would eventually roll out a strategy ahead of the 2026 Midterms that involved at least a bit of ratfuckery, and, potentially, Big Lie version 3.0, taking aim at Democrats running for office and election administration generally. His recently released presidential memorandum going after ActBlue — the fundraising machine that powers the vast majority of the Democratic Party ecosystem, and is used by candidates running for offices at every level across the nation — could well end up being the beginning of his scheme’s grand unveiling.
Politico was first to report that Trump planned to issue a presidential memorandum directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate ActBlue; the memorandum, released a few minutes ago, waves toward unsubstantiated security concerns related to straw donors and foreign contributions. (Republicans in Congress have cited similar concerns in launching their own investigations, but have not substantiated the claims.) Trump asks Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to look into the claims and to bring a report on the results of her investigation directly to him. Writes Trump:
These activities undermine the integrity of our electoral process. Therefore, I direct the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, to use all lawful authority, as necessary, to investigate allegations regarding the unlawful use of online fundraising platforms to make “straw” or “dummy” contributions or foreign contributions to political candidates and committees, and to take all appropriate actions to enforce the law. I further direct the Attorney General to report back to me through the Counsel to the President within 180 days of the date of this memorandum on the results of the investigation.
The issues here are glaring and two fold. Trump has made retribution the theme of his second term, as he takes actions against law firms, universities, organizations and even guts his own executive branch to remove the threat, real or perceived, of anyone at odds with — or simply uncommitted to — his political agenda. But this is different.
In ordering Bondi to investigate, he is innovating on, and getting more direct about, his campaign of targeting his enemies. Trump has taken executive actions to instruct Bondi and the Justice Department to investigate the investigators and rid the DOJ of whatever and whomever she deems the deep state. So far, it has mostly been the allies he’s installed in leadership positions within the DOJ who have taken steps to act on his retribution agenda and erode even the appearance of the Justice Department’s traditional independence from the White House (though the White House did, reportedly, directly order the firing of two federal prosecutors last month). Now, the president apparently intends to openly and directly oversee their work.
And by targeting ActBlue, which serves as the main pillar of the Democratic Party’s digital fundraising apparatus, Trump is attacking the infrastructure of the Democratic Party and its ability to effectively compete in elections. Since its inception in 2004, ActBlue has raised nearly $16 billion for Democratic candidates and Democratic causes. In an email to Democrats Wednesday warning of potential White House action against the group, CEO Regina Wallace-Jones called it out for what it appears to be.
“Nothing will deter or interrupt ActBlue’s mission and work to enable millions of Americans to participate in our democracy,” she wrote. “There is an ongoing and persistent effort to weaken the confidence of the American people in what’s possible. This is the next version of ‘the big lie.’”
House Republicans have been angling to target ActBlue for some time, claiming the fundraising tool didn’t have proper security protocols in place to block foreign donations. Those efforts have not borne fruit; a recent congressional subpoena revealed that the organization has policies in place to immediately reject foreign donations.
But Elon Musk has, in recent weeks, made ActBlue a target of his screeds on X. In March he suggested without evidence that “ActBlue-funded groups” were behind the spate of protests against Tesla, as Americans object to his rampage through their federal government.
Raskin Takes Another Stab At Ed Martin Accountability
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, is calling for the FBI to investigate acting D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin for not disclosing his appearances on networks funded by the Russian government, per a recent report from The Hill.
According to a report from the Washington Post, Martin made over 150 appearances on RT America and Sputnik as a guest commentator between August 2016 and August of last year.
“The Congress of the United States and the American people deserve a full picture of Mr. Martin, his relationships to Russia, and his political loyalties,” Raskin wrote, according to reporting from The Hill. “RT and Sputnik have been ‘critical elements’ in Moscow’s propaganda and disinformation efforts, which have been addressed by both Democratic and Republican administrations. Since 2017 and 2018, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has required RT and Sputnik to register as foreign agents, reflecting Russian government control over their operations.”
This is not the first time Raskin has called for an investigation into Martin. Last month, Raskin called on Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz to investigate Martin; in a March 12 letter, he argued that Martin’s recent actions “appear to violate the Constitution, federal statutes, DOJ regulations, and rules of legal ethics.”
The FBI confirmed receipt of Raskin’s letter in an email to TPM, but said they “don’t have any additional comment.”
— Khaya Himmelman
DHS Decides: 12 Hours Is All The Time You Need Before Being Sent To El Salvador
We now know how the Trump administration is interpreting SCOTUS’s requirement that those set for removal under the Alien Enemies Act receive notice before being expelled and have enough time to file a habeas corpus claim. The answer is 12 hours. If you want to file a habeas claim, then they’ll give you a total of 24 hours to go to court before you become acquainted with the Salvadoran detention system.
Stingy puts it mildly. The notices are offered in English, and only make a vague reference to the ability to object to removal. Does this comply with the Supreme Court’s order? Clearly not in spirit. And even in deed, only maybe in the flimsiest, narrowest way.
FDA Commissioner Leaves Door Cracked On Restricting Abortion Pill
More from Semafor:
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Martin Makary said Thursday he has “no plans to take action” to restrict the availability of mifepristone, the pill used in most medication abortions in the US.
Speaking at the Semafor World Economy Summit, Makary took a firmer stance on the issue than he did in his Senate confirmation hearing last month, when he said he would “do a review of the data” and didn’t commit to specific action — leading some to wonder whether the Donald Trump administration would ultimately move to roll back access to the pill.
At the summit, though, Makary still left the door open to future action on the medication.
“There is an ongoing set of data that is coming into the FDA on mifepristone,” he said. “So if the data suggests something or tells us that there’s a real signal, we can’t promise we’re not going to act on that data.”
In Case You Missed It
Another Dem Sends Warning To Bukele
Judge Rejects Trump’s Vision Of An All-Powerful Presidency In Blocking Chunks Of His Election Order
Judge Pauses Abrego Garcia Case After Parties Reach Secret Agreement
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
Trump DOJ Launches New Secret Gambit In Abrego Garcia Case
What We Are Reading
Judge blocks part of Trump’s order calling for proof of citizenship to vote
U.S. Sidelines Lawyers Who Doubted Their Own Case on Congestion Pricing
Democratic Party To-Do List
Investigate the Heritage Foundation. Remove its tax-exempt status. Query each member for loyality to the Constitution. Deport Foundation criminals to El Salvador.
For starters.
US democracy is a pretty cool thing. It is deeply weird to me that we are apparently going to let it be decimated by a crass carnival barker who apparently reeks of shit from his soiled Depends.
Will we see ketchup on the wall if that investigation of ActBlue finds nothing wrong? He’ll probably still want it slapped with a stop order and he doesn’t care that the house already did their investigation and found nothing.
Jeeze, how dare the democrats have donors or an outfit that coordinates giving like Act Blue. It’s ok for repubs to have shady donations but them democrats gotta be squeaky clean