By Nate Raymond
BOSTON, May 1 (Reuters) - Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday in an effort to block the Republican from pursuing investigations and litigation against it as part of what the lawsuit calls an unlawful retribution campaign.
ActBlue's lawsuit in federal court in Boston asked a judge to prevent Paxton from moving forward with a separate case he filed last month that accused it of misleading Congress and the public about its donation practices.
"Paxton's decision to use his government office to target ActBlue with legal sanctions as retribution for its protected speech and political association is an affront to the Constitution and must not be tolerated," ActBlue's lawyers wrote.
Paxton's office did not respond to a request for comment.
SEVERAL REPUBLICAN-BACKED INVESTIGATIONS
His lawsuit against ActBlue stemmed from one of several Republican-backed probes into the organization, which President Donald Trump last year had directed the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate along with other online fundraising platforms.
Paxton's lawsuit, which was filed on April 20 in a state court in Texas, seeks financial penalties and to block ActBlue from permitting donations on its platform via gift cards and prepaid debit cards.
He alleged such payment methods enable fraudulent donations by concealing a donor’s true identity, allowing for improper contributions from people outside the U.S. The lawsuit said ActBlue has continued to process gift card donations despite saying in 2024 it would cease doing so.
In Friday's lawsuit, the Massachusetts-headquartered group called the case an example of the conservative attorney general using his authority to intimidate and harass political opponents in violation of the free speech protections of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.
ActBlue said the Texas case is rife with "false and inflammatory allegations," saying that its investigators' efforts to use gift cards on its platform were repeatedly rejected by its automated tools.
It accused Paxton of targeting it as retaliation for its support for Democratic candidates. Since its founding in 2004, ActBlue has helped raise $19 billion for Democratic candidates and causes.
They include Paxton's Democratic opponent in his current campaign for the U.S. Senate, James Talarico, according to the lawsuit. It said that after Talarico announced raising more than $2 million in 24 hours through ActBlue, Paxton, the next day, dispatched investigators to start a case against ActBlue.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in BostonEditing by Rod Nickel)
