As a sprawling congressional investigation into online political fundraising expands, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday he fears foreign adversaries such as China and Iran may be laundering money to Democrats this election, and he is vowing lawmakers will take punitive actions against overseas actors if the allegations are corroborated.
"This is a massive scandal," Johnson told Just the News in an interview just days after House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer revealed to lawmakers in a confidential memo that the Treasury Department has confirmed it possesses hundreds of Suspicious Activity Reports for possible money laundering tied to the Democratic Party's massive online fundraising platform known as ActBlue.
House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, Sen. Ron Johnson and 19 state attorneys general have been investigative whether the ActBlue platform is being abused by foreign actors to disguise illicit donations as coming from unwitting and possibly defrauded American citizens.
"My theory is that they're taking money from foreign nationals, primarily Iran, Russia China, and Venezuela, and they're breaking down the donations into smaller gifts and making it look as though these are, you know, this is a wave of new donors, American people, that are doing this," the Louisiana Republican said on the John Solomon Reports podcast.
Johnson said early evidence suggests there could be a "Massive, massive operation" operating to move money from illicit sources to influence the 2024 election.
Johnson said he fears liberal actors may be complicit in aiding in illicit fundraising from overseas or elsewhere.
Johnson said if foreign money laundering into the U.S. political system is corroborated, he expects Congress will take strong punitive actions against countries that are involved.
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