‘Wow!’ GOP Rep. Floored in House Hearing By ActBlue CEO Pleading the Fifth on a Question About Her Name

Screenshots via CSPAN

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) was shocked when ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones refused to answer any questions at a Wednesday House hearing, even pleading the Fifth Amendment when asked her own name.

Wallace-Jones pleaded the Fifth in response to all questions by lawmakers on Wednesday. She refused more than a dozen times to provide answers to questions regarding ActBlue’s safeguards against foreign donations. According to a report from The New York Times, lawyers warned the fundraising organization that they may have misled Congress when previously responding to concerns about potential fraud and foreign donations.

“On the advice of my counsel, I respectfully decline to answer this question pursuant to my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution,” Wallace-Jones repeatedly told lawmakers on Wednesday.

Loudermilk got the same response when asking how he should refer to her.

“So I do have a series of questions for you, but I want to make sure I’m respectful. Is it Miss Jones or Miss Wallace-Jones?” Loudermilk asked.

“On the advice of my counsel, I respectfully decline to answer this question pursuant to my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution,” Wallace-Jones said, some in the room chuckling at the answer.

“Okay, wow! Okay, didn’t, uh…expect that one,” Loudermilk said.

He later posted to clip to X, writing, “Apparently, even the preferred usage of the ActBlue CEO’s name is protected under the 5th Amendment.”

According to the Times report, a 2023 letter from Wallace-Jones to lawmakers said that ActBlue had multi-layered screenings that donations go through to make sure there are no foreign funds. A law firm later found though that some of these steps laid out weren’t actually followed, saying it presents a “substantial risk for ActBlue.”

According to one of the legal memos, “In addition, because ActBlue’s staff was aware that its system was not as robust as necessary, it could be alleged that these violations were ‘knowing and willful,’ a standard that both increases the penalties the F.E.C. might seek and gives the Justice Department jurisdiction for a potential criminal investigation.”

Watch above via CSPAN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!