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ActBlue sues Texas AG Ken Paxton, alleging political retaliation over Democrats’ fundraising
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Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue is suing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, accusing the Republican of using his office for «retaliation» to punish the group for its political work and asking a federal judge to block his investigations and litigation against the organization.
«ActBlue is trying to take me down,» Paxton, who is running for Senate in Texas, wrote on X. «I sued the fundraising platform for deceiving Americans by lying about its donation processes that allow fraudulent and foreign donations.
«I will hold those who break the law accountable.»
The ActBlue lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in Boston, seeks to counter the case Paxton brought last month in Texas state court accusing ActBlue of misleading Congress and the public about its donation practices. ActBlue said Paxton’s actions are part of an unlawful retaliation campaign targeting the nation’s leading small-dollar Democratic fundraising platform.
TEXAS AG PAXTON SUES DEM FUNDRAISING PLATFORM ACTBLUE, ALLEGING ‘FRAUDULENT AND FOREIGN DONATIONS’
An election countdown calendar hangs at the ActBlue fundraising office in Somerville, Mass. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
«Ken Paxton has spent more than two years using the power of his office to investigate, harass, and sue ActBlue,» Lawrence Oliver, ActBlue’s chief legal officer, said in a statement.
«The timing of Paxton fighting for his political life in his run for U.S. Senate and his use of the Attorney General’s office to attack ActBlue, should not be lost on anyone. He is wasting taxpayer dollars to benefit his political ambitions.
«That is not law enforcement. It is retaliation against constitutionally protected speech and association, and it is exactly what the First Amendment forbids.»
DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT ACTBLUE ROCKED BY ALLEGATIONS IT MISLED CONGRESS ABOUT FOREIGN DONATIONS
ActBlue alleges Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, is investigating its Democrat fundraising platform to target his potential November election opponent James Talarico. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)
ActBlue also argues selective prosecution, noting Paxton has never investigated WinRed — the Republican fundraising counterpart to ActBlue — alleging in the lawsuit that «Paxton has a history of targeting Democratic-aligned entities.»
«During his tenure as Texas Attorney General, Paxton has signaled an emphasis on enforcement against entities enabling voting and political speech that he perceives as aligned with the Democratic Party,» the lawsuit reads. «He has consistently sought to suppress speech with which he disagrees and hobble his political opponents by abusing the powers of his Office.»
ActBlue cited a New York Times report that Talarico «had posted strong fundraising numbers for the first quarter of 2026,» in potentially being the nexus for Paxton’s opening his investigation.
‘OPEN BORDERS TRUMP-HATING RADICAL’: GOP UNLEASHES EARLY BLITZ ON TEXAS DEMOCRAT TALARICO
The timing of his investigation shows a political motive, ActBlue’s lawsuit argues. The group says Paxton’s investigators began conducting undercover transactions on ActBlue’s platform Feb. 18, one day after Talarico announced he had raised $2.5 million in 24 hours, including more than $2.2 million through ActBlue.
The lawsuit said Paxton filed his Texas case five days after national reporting described Talarico as a major fundraising threat who had raised more than $36 million through the platform.
The lawsuit marks an escalation in a broader Republican-backed campaign targeting ActBlue and other online fundraising platforms. President Donald Trump last year directed his Department of Justice to investigate the groups, and Paxton has pursued ActBlue through a series of inquiries dating back to December 2023.
‘TIPPING THE SCALES’: HOUSE GOP LEADERS RIP ACTBLUE AFTER DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT HIT WITH SUBPOENA
The issue comes as the Democratic National Committee reportedly carried more than $17.5 million in debt this winter, according to the FEC.
The House Administration, Judiciary and Oversight committees have been investigating ActBlue for more than a year and issued a 2025 report titled «Fraud on ActBlue.»
«ActBlue has engaged in good faith at every turn,» the group wrote in a statement after sending a letter to the committees last week before filing the Paxton lawsuit.
TOP HOUSE COMMITTEES ACCUSE DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT OF FACILITATING ‘BAD ACTORS’ IN BOMBSHELL DOJ LETTER
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan are leading investigations into ActBlue. (AP)
«We are asking the Committees to do the same: engage with us directly before sending accusatory public correspondence, and answer unresolved questions about the relationship between their oversight work and a DOJ investigation ordered by a President who has made no secret of his hostility towards ActBlue.
«We see what this is,» the statement added. «And we’re going to keep showing up, keep correcting the record — because that’s what transparency actually looks like. Not as a talking point. As a practice.»
Paxton’s Texas lawsuit, filed April 20, seeks financial penalties and asks a state court to stop ActBlue from allowing donations through gift cards and prepaid debit cards. Paxton alleged those payment methods could obscure a donor’s identity and enable illegal contributions, including from foreign nationals. His suit also claimed ActBlue continued to process gift card donations after saying in 2024 that it would stop doing so.
DEMOCRAT PLATFORM ACTBLUE SUBPOENAED BY HOUSE COMMITTEE AMID CONCERNS FOREIGN DONORS EXPLOITED SECURITY FLAWS
ActBlue denied the allegations.
«This is a thinly veiled attempt to distract from Ken Paxton’s numerous legal and ethical issues ahead of next month’s runoff,» ActBlue spokeswoman De’Andra Roberts-LaBoo told Fox News in an April 20 statement via email. «If he and his Republican allies actually cared about donor fraud, they would work to strengthen security standards across the board, including within their own operations, rather than targeting ActBlue.
«Our platform has done more than any other, regardless of party, to prevent improper donations and protect donors. Full stop.»
SCOOP: DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT ACTBLUE HIT WITH SUBPOENA BY TOP HOUSE COMMITTEES
Investigators from Paxton’s office attempted three times to use an American Express gift card on ActBlue’s platform, and all three attempts were rejected by the platform’s automated fraud-prevention tools, according to the complaint.
ActBlue said Paxton nevertheless filed a lawsuit accusing the group of having «secretly resumed» accepting gift cards and failed to disclose the failed test transactions to the Texas court, calling the allegations «false and inflammatory.»
«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,» ActBlue’s lawyers wrote in the federal lawsuit.
Since its founding in 2004, ActBlue said it has helped raise $19 billion for Democratic campaigns and progressive organizations, including more than $568 million in the first quarter of 2026, acting as a conduit for individual donors.
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The lawsuit asks a federal judge to declare Paxton’s investigation and Texas civil case unconstitutional violations of ActBlue’s First and 14th Amendment rights and to bar him from continuing to pursue them.
Reuters contributed to this report.
first amendment elections, republicans, texas, investigations, fund raising
INTERNACIONAL
Newsom blames Trump for DOJ probe, but reports say investigation predates his administration
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s claims that President Donald Trump’s Justice Department launched a politically motivated «fishing expedition» against him are facing new scrutiny after multiple reports indicated key federal investigations predate Trump’s second administration.
The timeline has emerged as a central point in the dispute. While Newsom argues the current Justice Department is weaponizing the investigations against a political rival, multiple news organizations, citing sources familiar with the matter, have reported that at least some of the investigative activity began before Trump returned to the White House.
According to CalMatters, at least two criminal investigations involving Newsom’s orbit have been underway for about a year in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California. The outlet, citing a Justice Department source familiar with the matter, reported the investigations originated from whistleblowers and local complaints in Sacramento, while one inquiry involving former Newsom chief of staff Dana Williamson was opened during the Biden administration. CBS News, Axios, the Financial Times and The Guardian have also reported similar timelines, citing sources familiar with the investigations.
Newsom has maintained that the current Justice Department has expanded or politicized the investigations, even as the reported chronology has fueled questions over whether the inquiries themselves originated under Trump’s administration.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEWSOM-LINKED CHARITIES REPORTEDLY CAUGHT IN DOJ’S SIGHTS
President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., have feuded throughout Trump’s second term so far. (AP Newsroom)
The outlet also reported that one investigation involving former Newsom chief of staff Dana Williamson was opened during the Biden administration. Williamson pleaded guilty earlier this year to corruption charges in a case that did not implicate Newsom. CBS News, Axios, the Financial Times and The Guardian have also reported, citing sources familiar with the investigations, that at least one federal inquiry began roughly a year ago and originated in California rather than at Justice Department headquarters in Washington.
Despite that reported timeline, Newsom has maintained that the current Justice Department is weaponizing the investigations in retaliation for his criticism of Trump and his national political profile, describing the inquiry as a politically motivated «fishing expedition.» His administration has also sought records through the Freedom of Information Act in an effort to determine who ordered or directed the current investigation.
ACTING AG TODD BLANCHE SAYS NEWSOM’S DOJ CLAIMS ARE NOT ‘GROUNDED IN FACT’
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has pushed back on Newsom’s claims that the DOJ’s investigations are politically motivated. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche pushed back on that characterization this week. While declining to comment on any ongoing investigations, Blanche told reporters he was «not sure [Newsom’s] words are in any way grounded in fact,» adding that the California governor «would have to address that.» Blanche did not confirm or deny whether any investigation exists.
Newsom’s office responded by mocking Blanche on social media, posting a meme captioned, «Why you always lyin,» while the governor’s press office said, «Trump goons know that it’s not a crime to lie to a reporter.»
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According to CalMatters, Newsom’s office contends federal prosecutors expanded their inquiries after failing to build a case from the Williamson investigation, broadening their scrutiny to include Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the couple’s finances and their associates.
The outlet reported investigators have examined the first partner’s tax filings, nonprofit organizations and certain behested payments, though it did not allege those payments were unlawful.
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First partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom is among those whose finances and nonprofit organizations have reportedly been scrutinized in a federal investigation, according to CalMatters. (Getty Images)
Fox News Digital previously reported, citing federal sources, that investigators have opened inquiries involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, but that Fox News had not learned of any federal investigation directly targeting Gov. Newsom himself.
The Department of Justice, the White House and Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
politics, justice department, gavin newsom, donald trump
El director de la organización, Wilmer Vásquez, advirtió que este fenómeno continúa siendo una de las principales expresiones de la crisis social que enfrenta Honduras, debido a la persistente falta de oportunidades, la desigualdad estructural y la vulneración de derechos fundamentales que afectan a la niñez y adolescencia en distintas regiones del territorio nacional.
Coiproden señaló que, pese al endurecimiento de las políticas migratorias en Estados Unidos y al incremento de controles fronterizos en los últimos años, el flujo migratorio de familias hondureñas no ha disminuido de forma significativa.
De acuerdo con la organización, muchas familias continúan tomando la decisión de migrar debido a condiciones económicas adversas, la falta de empleo digno y la limitada cobertura de servicios básicos en comunidades rurales y urbanas del país.
En este contexto, la niñez se ha convertido en uno de los grupos más vulnerables dentro de los flujos migratorios, ya sea viajando sola o acompañada de sus familiares en busca de mejores condiciones de vida fuera de Honduras.
El representante de Coiproden calificó como alarmantes las cifras acumuladas desde 2014, al señalar que el impacto de la migración infantil no solo se mide en los menores deportados, sino también en aquellos que logran salir del país o que permanecen en tránsito migratorio.
Según explicó, si estos datos se registraran en países con mayores niveles de desarrollo institucional, serían considerados una emergencia nacional debido a las implicaciones sociales, económicas y humanitarias que representan.
“Si vemos estas estadísticas en un país desarrollado, estaríamos en una completa emergencia nacional”, expresó Wilmer Vásquez, al referirse a la magnitud del fenómeno migratorio infantil en Honduras.
Coiproden subrayó que la migración de niñas, niños y adolescentes no es un hecho aislado, sino el resultado de múltiples factores estructurales que afectan a la sociedad hondureña.
Entre ellos destacan la pobreza, la desigualdad social, la falta de acceso a oportunidades educativas y la ausencia de empleos dignos para los adultos responsables de los hogares, lo que obliga a muchas familias a buscar alternativas fuera del país.
La organización insistió en que estos factores se han mantenido a lo largo de los años, sin una respuesta integral suficientemente efectiva por parte del Estado para revertir la tendencia migratoria.
Vásquez reiteró la necesidad de fortalecer el sistema de protección de la niñez mediante una mayor asignación de recursos públicos y el desarrollo de políticas sociales más robustas y sostenidas en el tiempo.
En ese sentido, Coiproden planteó la importancia de reforzar programas de prevención, atención y acompañamiento a las familias en situación de vulnerabilidad, con el fin de reducir los factores que impulsan la migración irregular.
Asimismo, la organización enfatizó que es fundamental garantizar acceso a educación, salud y condiciones de vida dignas en las comunidades, para evitar que la migración sea vista como la única alternativa de desarrollo.
El director de Coiproden afirmó que la solución a esta problemática requiere una estrategia integral que involucre al Estado, la sociedad civil y la cooperación internacional, enfocada en mejorar las condiciones de vida de la población.
Advirtió que mientras persistan la pobreza, la desigualdad y la falta de oportunidades laborales, las niñas, niños y adolescentes continuarán siendo parte de los flujos migratorios que buscan llegar a otros países en busca de un futuro mejor.
Finalmente, la organización reiteró su llamado a priorizar la inversión social y a fortalecer las instituciones encargadas de la protección de la niñez, como una medida urgente para enfrentar una problemática que, según sus datos, se ha mantenido durante más de una década en Honduras.
2020,caravana de migrantes hondureños a estados unidos,crisis migratoria,deportaciones,deportados,exterior,mujer,niño
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President Donald Trump delivered a 37-minute speech for America’s 250th birthday after a weather delay in the dark of night that was lit up by a Guinness world-record-setting fireworks display stretching from July 4 into July 5 at Washington, D.C.’s National Mall.
While thousands outlasted the rain and dodged nature’s thunderstorm light show, many Americans might have missed the president’s historic remarks.
Here is a recap of some of the highlights.
AMERICA’S NEXT 250 YEARS DEPEND ON PASSING FAITH AND FREEDOM TO OUR CHILDREN
President Donald Trump estimated in his speech that a crowd of 350,000 was cut to 150,000 on the Washington, D.C., National Mall for the record-setting fireworks display over the Washington Monument as part of the Salute to America 250 celebration. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
‘No dream in history is bigger’ than the American experiment
«In this country, we could achieve the wildest and most impossible dreams, and no dream in history is bigger or more incredible than the one that started on July 4th, 1776,» Trump said. «The war for independence was launched by minutemen, farmers, blacksmiths, tradesmen who took up their muskets against the mightiest army on earth, the most powerful army and unbeatable army – until they met us.»
«No one made them do it. They fought because they knew that a free people must have a free country. Over 250 years, the world has seen the great empires, vast kingdoms, mighty nations and terrible tyrants: They came and they went, but after 2 1/2 centuries, this American republic still stands tall and strong,» the president added.
TRUMP HAILS AMERICA AS ‘MOST EXCEPTIONAL NATION EVER TO EXIST’ IN MOUNT RUSHMORE SPEECH
‘America is a nation of winners’
«Americans won the West and built the modern world, because America is a nation of winners, and today our country is winning again, and we’re winning like never before,» Trump said just before the midway point of the speech. «America is back and we want to keep America great.»
«Together, we are also reasserting the truth that American strength and power is not something to be ashamed of. It is something that we are very, very proud of,» Trump continued. «This country has been the greatest force for peace and justice on earth in the last century. We defeated tyrants, demolished evil, and saved freedom again and again and again.»
‘Nothing Americans cannot do’
«There is no challenge Americans can not overcome,» Trump said before his concluding remarks. «There is no place we cannot go. There is no goal we cannot reach. And there is nothing that Americans cannot do.»
The crowd got 37 minutes of President Donald Trump’s historic America 250 speech and 38 minutes of the largest fireworks display in world history, breaking a Guinness Book of World Records mark as planned by Trump. (Pete Kiehart/Bloomberg)
Thanking those staying into the late hours
«If you think that was easy, it wasn’t,» Trump began in an unscripted salute to the patient and devoted crowd. «And I want to thank everybody because they did the right thing. They saw lightning. And I said, ‘there’s no way; if we have to speak in front of one person at 4 in the morning, I’m going to be here.’
«There’s no way we can be deterred. And they estimated they had 375,000 people before everybody had to leave, and they now have 150,000 people. It’s the craziest thing anyone’s ever seen.
«And I want to just thank you. And I feel so badly about some people. They left it; they couldn’t get back. But, you’re very special people, and we have a very special country. Thank you very much.»
’56 patriots put everything at risk’ for ‘victory for the ages’
«They declare that all men are created equal; that they are endowed with sacred unalienable rights by the hand of our creator, and that among these are life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,» Trump said, «and signing their names to the roster of freedom.»
«Those 56 patriots put everything at risk. Stepped onto the stage of destiny and seized a victory for the ages. And that’s what it was,» he said. «And this is an evening for the ages. I believe this is something very special. This is bigger than if we didn’t have the lightning blaring. We had lightning blaring. But this is bigger, little more inconvenient, but it’s bigger, I think, in its own way it’s more beautiful. From the beginning, we were a nation that live by the motto victory or death and live free or die.»
‘We will always be the best’
«God bless the immortal patriots of 1776, and long live the cause of independence,» Trump said. «May it reign forever and ever and ever. We will always be on top. We will never let our country fall. We will always be the best.»
«Our founders not only won our liberty, they secured it with the most righteous political document ever conceived: It’s called the Constitution of the United States,» Trump said. «Very special, and it’s because of their genius that we remain the finest people on the planet.»
Honoring 11 Gold Star families
«We are honored to be joined by 11 Gold Star family members,» Trump said. «The Gold Star family – that is one of the great tributes. It’s one of the great honors, a tough honor. There’s nothing tougher than that. But these are amazing people.»
Next stop, the moon, then a mission to Mars
«We’re going to be going to Mars very soon, and I think that’s something that we do have in my mind,» Trump said, hearkening to the historic John F. Kennedy going to the moon speech excerpt.
«And we’re going to do the moon and we’re going to go from there. We’re going to go to Mars, and we’re going to continue to be way ahead.»
Defeating communism: We ‘cast the hammer and sickle into oblivion’
«All these talks from the communists, they haven’t got a chance – not even a chance,» Trump said; a theme he reiterated multiple times in the speech. «We don’t want communists in our country. Never worked and it never will work.»
Communism will always be «a loser,» Trump added later.
«Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world only to have that menace rears its ugly head right back here in America. We’re not going to let it happen. We like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins,» Trump said. «It’s like a cancer. You got to cut it out. You got to cut it out fast.»
Trump added a warning to potential future communist opposition around the globe.
«The Stars and Stripes cast the hammer and sickle into oblivion before,» Trump said, «and we will do it again if necessary.»
«I don’t think it’s going to be necessary. I think people have learned. They’ve learned what to do and how to handle it, and we’ll get a handle it very well.»
‘Our destiny is written by God’
«We have thrived and flourished because our founders were great, our cause was just, our people are brave, our culture is exceptional, and our destiny is written by God,» Trump said near the end of the speech he apparently cut short after vowing earlier this week to deliver an hours-long address to the world.
«And as we can see here tonight, after 250 years, the spirit of 1776 still lives within us all. It still roars in the hearts of our nation’s capital. It still burns in the heart of every patriot, thunders through every city and town, and is still lights the entire world with the glow of American liberty. And there is nothing like that.»
250 and ‘just getting started’: ‘Best is yet to come’; ‘dawn of the golden age’
Fireworks over the National Mall during the ‘Freedom 250: Salute to America’ Independence Day celebration in Washington, D.C., might have extended to July 5, 2026, but President Donald Trump still made sure they went off for the thousands that waited out the thunderstorm with him Saturday night. (Mehmet Eser/Anadolu)
«At 250 years old, we may be the oldest constitutional republic on earth, but our country is just getting started because the best is yet to come: This is only the dawn of the golden age of America,» Trump said in his conclusion, leading directly into the National Mall fireworks display.
«And on this 250th 4th of July, we declare, just as they did two and a half centuries ago, that for our country and for our children and for the cause of liberty, we are going to take our country to new levels, to levels not reached,» Trump continued. «We’re going to make it bigger, better, stronger, and we’re going to love it even more.»
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«And I just want to thank you,» he added, finishing with words off the script. «The inconvenience of lightning can do that, but lightning will never stop you. And I want to thank everybody and we love you all. And it’s an honor to be your president. Thank you. God bless you all.»
america 250, donald trump, washington dc, white house, history
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