The House Ways and Means Committee has opened a serious front in the fight over foreign influence, and the far left is reacting exactly as expected.
Instead of answering basic questions about money, documents and China linked influence, the usual activist class is screaming about persecution.
At the center of the storm is Marxist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, who has poured roughly $39 million into three nonprofit groups now facing congressional subpoenas.
Singham left the United States years ago and now lives in China, which somehow does not seem to bother the crowd that sees fascism behind every Republican press release.
The subpoenas went to BreakThrough News, the People’s Forum Inc. and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.
The committee says the groups failed to produce “a single responsive document” after earlier requests for information.
BreakThrough News operates as a media outlet within the broader network, while the People’s Forum serves as a New York activist and political education hub.
Tricontinental provides the ideological polish, describing its work as rooted in “national liberation Marxism.”
Once Fox News Digital reported the subpoenas, the online defense machine lit up.
Hasan Piker, the livestream influencer beloved by the socialist internet, called the subpoenas “the McCarthy trials”.
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CodePink figure Medea Benjamin also jumped in after BreakThrough News host Rania Khalek asked supporters for money and backup.
Benjamin called the subpoenas a “terrible attack on independent journalism,” then added, “We stand with you!!!”
That would be more convincing if the network were not tied to figures and organizations that routinely praise or defend communist regimes.
Benjamin helped found CodePink with Jodie Evans, who married Singham in 2017, the same year he sold ThoughtWorks for an estimated $785 million.
Piker, Benjamin and Evans also traveled to Cuba in March to show support for the island’s communist government.
Fox News Digital previously reported that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is examining whether the trip violated U.S. sanctions rules.
The irony is rich, even by leftist standards.
People who cheer governments in Cuba and China, where dissent and independent media face real repression, are now acting like congressional document requests are the end of the First Amendment.
BreakThrough News is based at the People’s Forum address on W. 37th Street in Manhattan.
The outlet produces protest coverage, political messaging and activist media that often tracks closely with the priorities of the broader Singham backed network.
The People’s Forum organizes demonstrations and programs, while affiliated groups have been seen distributing printed protest signs at rallies.
Tricontinental, led by Vijay Prashad, provides Marxist research and has hosted international events, including a Shanghai conference where Singham praised the “new world order” associated with the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping.
Federal scrutiny is not limited to Capitol Hill.
Fox News Digital reported that U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton in the Southern District of New York has launched a grand jury investigation into alleged wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and other financial misconduct tied to Singham’s financing of these organizations.
The State Department also named the People’s Forum and CodePink as “fellow travelers” in Cuba’s foreign influence campaign to promote communism.
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For normal Americans, that is not exactly the kind of company one keeps by accident.
The rapid response from the left followed a familiar pattern.
The People’s Forum rolled out a petition and fundraising appeal, asking for tax deductible donations to cover legal expenses and organizing work.
Khalek then urged supporters to “sign, share, donate” and promoted a petition titled “Tell Congress: Drop the Witch Hunt Against BreakThrough News!”
She also wrote, “We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to fight this assault on our journalism. The only rights we have are the ones we’re willing to defend.”
Tax filings show Khalek received $101,449 in 2024 and $108,160 in 2023 for “consulting.”
She hosts “Dispatches” and also cohosts “The Freedom Side” for the outlet.
The campaign quickly spread beyond the usual domestic socialist circles.
Iranian regime friendly voices and left wing international activists echoed the same persecution line, despite Iran ranking near the bottom of the world for press freedom.
The committee says the real concern is the financial structure behind the activism.
Investigators allege money moved through shell companies and donor advised funds before reaching tax exempt groups, a setup that can hide original sources “by design, obscure the original source of the contribution.”
Fox News Digital previously documented $278 million flowing from Singham into six core nonprofits across a wider international network.
Congress is now focused on about $39 million that allegedly reached BreakThrough News, the People’s Forum and Tricontinental, and the left is melting down because someone finally asked to see the receipts.
