Trump wants to probe Dems over shady fundraising but turns blind eye to questionable donations to him

WASHINGTON, DC: When President Donald Trump told his attorney general to investigate online fundraising last month, he framed it as a crusade against “schemes” and “dummy accounts” used by fraudsters and foreign donors.

One name at the center of his executive order was ActBlue, the Democrats' go-to fundraising platform.

The president raised concerns over potentially illicit donations, and he had a point — ActBlue has acknowledged receiving more than 200 shady contributions in the past year that seemed to originate from foreign internet addresses. 

But Trump didn’t mention a thing about his side of the aisle, even though his political committees have collected a whopping 1,600 questionable donations over the past five years, according to an Associated Press investigation.

This reportedly includes $5,000 tied to a derelict building, another $5,000 from a Chinese businessman using a La Quinta Inn as his US address, and a massive $1 million gift from a woman married to an African oil mogul.

Trump apparently targeting foreign cash, fake names, and shady addresses

It's worth noting that foreign nationals are legally barred from contributing to US elections, and US campaigns are supposed to police this with help from the FEC. But Trump’s team appears to have some leaky filters. 

The AP found Trump received donations from people with no full names, marked as “anonymous” or tagged with “name not provided.” In fact, only two donors living abroad had their US citizenship officially verified.

Some of the more colorful entries include donors using the address “999 Anonymous Dr.” and a donor known only as “Alex, A,” who gave $5,000 across 40 tiny transactions — all linked to an abandoned funeral home in DC.

Then there’s Jack Zhang, a Chinese scaffolding tycoon who gave Trump $5,000 via WinRed, the GOP’s version of ActBlue. Zhang’s company is based in China’s Shandong province, but his donation was registered from a La Quinta Inn in Hawaiian Gardens, California — which is located near Disneyland, where Zhang posted a family photo around the same time.

While WinRed processed most of these donations, it didn’t exactly slam the brakes on suspect entries. Of the hundreds of potentially problematic contributions, only about three dozen were rejected, mostly because they came from unidentified sources or were paid in cryptocurrency.

Big names tied to Trump's campaign

One of the standout contributions came from Nnenna “Ella” Peters, who gave $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee. She’s the wife of Benedict Peters, a Nigerian billionaire with major interests in oil and mining. 

While Ella is a naturalized US citizen and technically allowed to donate, watchdogs worry that donations like hers might be serving as proxies for foreign interests.

“This clearly could have come from her husband,” said Craig Holman of Public Citizen. “This is something the FEC should take a very, very close look at.”

Ella’s donation also raised eyebrows because her previous political donations went to Hillary Clinton, including $66,800 in 2016. So, there are concerns about what motivated her shift in allegiance.

Benedict Peters, it turns out, might have some business overlaps with Trump’s ambitions. He owns Bravura Holdings, a company claiming rights to critical minerals in Africa — which is a key focus in Trump’s second-term energy agenda.

That connection raises suspicions about foreign influence.

Trump’s history of looking the other way to questionable donations to GOP

According to AP, Trump’s relationship with campaign finance laws has always been flexible. He’s pardoned Dinesh D’Souza, Michael Liberty, and Duncan Hunter — all convicted of campaign finance crimes. 

Under his watch, the Justice Department dropped charges against GOP Rep Jeff Fortenberry, who was accused of taking a $30,000 donation from a Nigerian billionaire.

Then there’s Barry Zekelman, a Canadian steel baron fined $975,000 for giving Trump’s super PAC $1.75 million in 2018. That donation allegedly bought him a dinner with Trump to discuss steel tariffs.

There were also Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, the Soviet-born businessmen convicted of funneling $325,000 into Trump’s super PAC in 2020, or Jesse Benton, a GOP operative nailed for helping a Russian businessman sneak $25,000 into Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Yet despite this track record, Trump’s team appears to be shining light on ActBlue.

“This is him taking direct aim at the center of Democratic and progressive fundraising to hamstring his political opponents,” said Ezra Reese of Elias Law Group. “I don’t think there’s any question that they picked their target first. He’s not even pretending.”

Democrats brace for a fundraising earthquake

To Trump’s critics, the focus on ActBlue feels rich considering his own house is filled with questionable donations.

“It’s telling that while Trump and his allies attack grassroots-funded platforms like ours, their own campaigns have welcomed money from questionable sources,” said Megan Hughes, spokesperson for ActBlue.

“Foreign money in our elections is a legitimate concern,” said Dan Weiner, a former Federal Election Commission attorney who now serves as director of the Brennan Center’s elections and government program. “What’s not legitimate is to single out one political opponent and pretend the problem is limited to them.”

Still, Republicans argue there’s cause for concern. A House GOP investigation flagged alleged problems at ActBlue, including weakened fraud checks last year. Trump’s executive order relied heavily on those findings, which have not yet resulted in formal legal action.

The White House insists that the Justice Department’s upcoming investigation will be impartial.

“The memorandum directs the attorney general to investigate this matter broadly, and she will follow the evidence and take appropriate action as warranted,” said a senior official speaking anonymously.

But Dems aren’t taking any chances. “There is a pervasive fear that ActBlue could cease to exist,” warned Matt Hodges, a veteran Democratic strategist. “That’s the worst fear people have — that this will escalate or drain legal resources that hinder their ability to operate.”

He estimates that $10 million in donations could vanish overnight if ActBlue shuts down — and with the 2026 midterms looming, that’s a nightmare scenario.

While ActBlue hasn’t confirmed whether the DOJ has reached out yet, they’re reportedly gearing up for a legal fight. But building an alternative platform this late in the game might be too little, too late.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online