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The lawyer for a Republican campaign operative alleging his email was fraudulently used to make donations through ActBlue on Friday asked a Wisconsin judge to dismiss the lawsuit against the company without prejudice after evidence was put forward that the use of his email address was accidental. 

Mark Block, a long-time Republican consultant in Wisconsin, previously sued the progressive fundraising platform, ActBlue, in October after he discovered that an old Gmail address he used for campaign work in 2012 for presidential candidate Herman Cain had been used to make small dollar donations to Democratic causes. In the lawsuit, Block alleged he was a victim of identity theft in a conspiracy to abuse the massive platform. 

In December, the real donor came forward and confirmed to Block’s lawyers that the donations he had made were legitimate, according to a cover letter accompanying the filings obtained by Just the News.

A lawyer from the America First Policy Institute—which is representing Block—asked the judge to dismiss the case citing “documentary evidence provided through Mr. Cain’s counsel,” but did not specify what that evidence was. 

An incorrectly entered email address could be to blame, according to prior court filings reviewed by Just the News. In November, ActBlue’s lawyers suggested that the donor, Bernard Cain, had incorrectly input his email address when setting up his donor profile on the platform, leading to the confusion.

You can read the cover letter and court filings below: 

ActBlue did not respond to a request for comment from Just the News.

Probes ongoing

The request to dismiss the lawsuit comes as ActBlue also faces accusations from Republican lawmakers that its security policies enabled fraud and possibly failed to prevent donations from foreign entities during the 2024 campaign season. 

Throughout the probes by Congress and the lawsuit, ActBlue has steadfastly denied wrongdoing and has cooperated with the investigations. “Democratic and progressive campaigns have trusted ActBlue’s two-decade-long track record of innovation and dependability to deliver during big fundraising moments,” ActBlue said in a statement in last summer celebrating its 20th anniversary in business.

ActBlue continues to face a probe from House Republicans after the Treasury Department confirmed its money laundering detection system generated hundreds of suspicious activity reports related to the progressive-leaning online fundraising giant.

Security, Foreign money

Chairman Bryan Steil of the House Administration Committee also started investigating the company last year over concerns that four foreign powers — China, Russia, Venezuela and Iran — used ActBlue to route illicit foreign money into Democrat coffers.

Separately, the platform has faced state-level probes from 19 state attorneys general who are pressing the company on its security practices centered around CVV codes for credit and debit cards used to make donations on the platform. ActBlue reached an agreement with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in August to begin using the security codes to prevent fraud.