Concern among House Republicans about potential illegal donations has caused a widespread call for state-based investigations into a possible money-based scandal.

Five states have been asked to open investigations into "potential criminal activity" in the routing of hundreds of millions of dollars in political donations to Kamala Harris and other Democrats through the fundraising platform known as ActBlue. 

Influential Republicans heading the relevant House committees in charge of overseeing election integrity made this request, calling attention to the need for integrity in the upcoming presidential election, as Just The News reported.

The Chairman of the House Administration Committee, Bryan Steil, a Republican from Wisconsin, made five referrals on Wednesday evening to the Attorney Generals of the following states: Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.

The Analysis

Steil claimed that after conducting a thorough computer analysis, his committee discovered a suspicious pattern of donations from people whose net worth was insufficient to match what ActBlue reports to the Federal Election Commission credited to them.

“This investigation focused on potential unlawful exploitation of unwitting ‘straw donors,’ whose identities may have been used to  channel illicit funds into campaigns in your state,” Steil wrote the top law enforcement officials in the five states.

“The final analysis produced a set of anomalous donor profiles, ranked by the severity of the inconsistencies. In reviewing this analysis, it became clear there is suspicious activity occurring that warrants further review,” he  added.

"Straw donors" are donors who are either given money by others to donate to federal candidates or whose identity is misused by others to make donations to evade federal campaign contribution limits.

Previous Scandal

Three decades ago, during the Clinton administration, the Democratic Party was shaken by a controversy involving straw donations.

This crisis occurred when Congress and federal prosecutors established that wealthy businessmen with ties to China had distributed millions of dollars to straw donors during the election of 1996.

The affair, which was given the name China Gate, resulted in a significant investigation by Congress as well as a few dozen convictions.

From the Letter

Rather than accusing any group or individual of breaking the law, Steil's letters transmit information to the attorneys general of patterns that they think resemble criminal conduct. This is because Steil's letters stay away from making such accusations.

Records of thousands of donations that the committee considered appeared to be suspect in each state were included in the letters.

“This investigation has exposed potential criminal activity that should be investigated by an appropriate law enforcement agency, such as your office,” he wrote in the letters. “The enclosed data provides detailed donor records to facilitate this process.”