ActBlue sues Texas AG Ken Paxton, alleging political retaliation over Democrats' fundraising

By Fox News · Fox News

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' "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 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 Genera…