(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) A woke Massachusetts judge appointed by former President Bill Clinton quashed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against dark-money umbrella ActBlue on the basis that Paxton is running for office against a candidate who relies on the fraudulent fundraising site for campaign revenue.
“The lawsuit in Texas is undoubtedly an adverse action,” U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns wrote in a 15-page order released Thursday, according to Just The News.
In addition to scolding Paxton for a “bad faith” effort to undermine his Democrat rival, state Rep. James Talarico, the judge maintained that ActBlue’s shady operations were protected under the First Amendment.
“Having previously found bad faith, the court agrees with ActBlue that the evidence in the record compels the conclusion that, far from protecting Texas consumers, the action was filed in retaliation for ActBlue’s fundraising on behalf of Talarico, Paxton’s current political rival for the Senate seat.”
Paxton issued a response on Saturday saying he planned to appeal the “flawed ruling” from Stearns.
“Texas has every right to enforce its own laws to protect our citizens, and we will continue to fight to hold ActBlue accountable,” he wrote.
I will be appealing this flawed ruling by a Clinton-appointed Massachusetts judge.
Texas has every right to enforce its own laws to protect our citizens, and we will continue to fight to hold ActBlue accountable. https://t.co/5aP3QytWuu
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) June 13, 2026
Paxton filed the lawsuit in April, well before securing the GOP nomination for Senate in a primary runoff last month that toppled longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
He alleged that ActBlue’s “smurfing” operations misled donors and sought to skirt campaign-finance restrictions by, among other things, acting as a pass-through for otherwise illegal foreign donations.
The organization’s practices have been under scrutiny for several years, including an ongoing investigation by the federal Justice Department.
Journalists such as James O’Keefe have previously exposed how it relied on below-the-radar micro-donations from past donors, often without their knowledge or consent, to break up its big-money funds from billionaire oligarchs while avoiding donor restrictions or scrutiny from the Federal Election Commission.
In testimony on Wednesday before the House Administration Committee, ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones pleaded the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination while dodging questions under oath about its operations.
“On the advice of my counsel, I respectfully decline to answer this question pursuant to my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution,” she said in response to questions about whether ActBlue had illegally funneled foreign donations into Democrat campaigns.
Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
