>> Continued From the Previous Page <<
No meaningful response ever came.
Fast forward to November 2023. While reviewing campaign finance data tied to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, another startling pattern emerged. After Whitmer contracted with prominent Democratic consulting firm GMMB, donation activity surged dramatically.
As documented in my findings, “After Whitmer contracted with the largest, most successful Democratic consultants known as GMMB her donation dollars increased by 100 fold and the number of donations per year increased by 265 fold!” The sheer scale of the increase raised obvious questions about whether campaign infrastructure was being used to facilitate illicit donation schemes. Only subpoena power, not spreadsheets, could definitively answer that question.
Around this same time, I reviewed a press release from Election Watch and Peter Bernegger that mirrored my concerns. It stated:
“A report by non-profit organizations, the Gibson Group of Maryland and Election Watch, has exposed a large-scale money laundering scheme in US political campaigns. This involves the use of ‘smurfs’ – thousands of individuals who make numerous small donations to liberal PACs, committees or directly to candidates’ campaigns, in order to launder large sums of money. The report claims that over $200m has been laundered so far, with many of the smurfs being unaware their names and addresses are being used for donations. Investigation found that the smurfs tend to be primarily white, retired, liberal, and of middle to lower economic class.”
Bernegger’s work has become foundational in identifying what appear to be systematic straw-donor networks.
In September 2024, I sent a detailed letter to Rep. James Comer, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee. In that letter, I wrote:
“As a citizen journalist/investigative reporter, I have spent several hundred hours, in the past few years, researching and reporting on the subject matter of your investigation… The most important aspect of laundered money in the campaign finance sector is that our right to be represented by our elected officials has been stolen in large part by massive amounts of laundered money!”
That research uncovered what I labeled the “Cory Booker Smurfs”—20 elderly individuals, averaging 80 years of age, allegedly responsible for more than $2.6 million in over 187,000 donations. The likelihood that these individuals personally made such donations defies common sense.
In April 2025, President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Justice to investigate foreign and illegal money flowing through political fundraising platforms, specifically naming ActBlue. The timing was notable.
By December 2025, further analysis identified six additional lawmakers—Mark Kelly, Elissa Slotkin, Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Chrissy Houlahan, and Maggie Goodlander—who allegedly received funds tied to 22 additional “smurfs.” These donors, with an average age of 77, were linked to nearly $3 million in donations across 95,000 transactions.
In a revealing discussion between journalist Charlie LeDuff and campaign strategist Jason Roe, shocking claims were made about ActBlue’s inner workings. Roe alleged that ActBlue has taken in over $16 billion since 2004 and that longtime campaign professionals have been aware of money laundering for years.
Roe stated plainly that:
- This activity is fraud
- This activity is money laundering
- This activity is funneling money from outside the US
He further explained how small-dollar donations are allegedly used to convert “soft money” into “hard money,” giving campaigns a massive advantage in advertising and fundraising.
Expanding the analysis revealed 42 alleged smurfs connected to eight U.S. Senators. The donation patterns are staggering and, frankly, unbelievable. Thousands of micro-donations, often averaging just a few dollars, were allegedly made by elderly individuals across dozens of campaigns nationwide.
Asking whether any rational observer believes these donations were legitimate answers itself.
The evidence compiled thus far paints a deeply troubling picture. Senators Cory Booker, Mark Kelly, Elissa Slotkin, Raphael Warnock, Adam Schiff, Jon Ossoff, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar appear to be central beneficiaries of what looks like a coordinated, long-running laundering operation. These 42 alleged smurfs alone are tied to more than $7.4 million in over 32,000 donations.
The strategy appears simple: “Too Small, Too Many To Find.” For years, it worked. Now, the pattern has been exposed. What comes next will determine whether election integrity is restored—or further eroded—by those entrusted to protect it.
