A Tennessee Republican is concerned that money donated to the Democrat Party via its universal donation portal might be ending up in the hands of foreign terrorists, according to a letter penned to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“The pro-BDS movement Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) currently uses ActBlue to solicit donations,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) said in his letter. “PACBI is also affiliated with the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), an organization known to have ties with foreign terrorist groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”
BDS stands for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against the state of Israel, and is widely considered to be an anti-Semitic movement.
ActBlue is a fundraising platform used by Democrat candidates, non-profits, and political action committees (PACs) at the state and federal level.
Burchett, who is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism, worries that the money of American citizens might be ending up in the hands of foreign terrorists.
“I am worried that funds donated to PACBI via ActBlue are, through BNC, directed to foreign terror organizations,” Rep. Burchett wrote in the letter. “This would be a breach of 18 U.S.Code § 2339B, which prohibits any party from providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations.”
The Tennessee congressman asked Yellen and Garland if their respective offices would investigate the platform’s potential ties to terror.
Countering the BDS movement is one of the few bipartisan initiatives in U.S. government. Burchett noted that in his letter.
“There is bipartisan opposition among American public officials—including the majority of Congress—to the BDS movement,” he said. “Additionally, when I asked Secretary of State Blinken about this issue recently, he confirmed that the Biden Administration opposes the BDS movement and indicated that stance will not change.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to dabroscareports@gmail.com.
Photo “Rep Tim Burchett” by Rep Tim Burchett.