Singham-linked nonprofits fight House subpoenas, accuse lawmakers of McCarthy-era ‘witch hunt’

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Three far-left nonprofits subpoenaed in House probe of millionaire Neville Roy Singham

Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at Gatestone Institute and author of ‘Plan Red,’ joins ‘The Big Weekend Show’ to discuss Marxist millionaire Neville Roy Singham.Chang exposes Singham’s alleged $591 million dark money network funding far-left nonprofits and influencing anti-U.S.activities, potentially with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.The House Ways and Means Committee issued subpoenas in its investigation.

Two nonprofits subpoenaed in a House Ways and Means Committee investigation into communist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham’s funding network have formally objected to the congressional subpoenas, accusing lawmakers of reviving “Red Scare” tactics to target them because of their political views.

In letters from their attorneys to the committee, New York City-based BreakThrough News, a pro-Chinamedia outlet, and Peoples Forum Inc., a socialist activist group, argued the subpoenas violate the First Amendment.

They claim lawmakers are targeting their free speech, journalism and political advocacy rather than conducting a legitimate tax-law investigation.

, defended the investigation and criticized the organizations’ refusal to comply with the July 21 subpoenas.

“Make no mistake: Compliance with a congressional subpoena isn’t optional, and the Committee will use all tools it has available to investigate whether foreign actors are exploiting our tax code to sow chaos and create division,” Smith said.

HOUSE PANEL SUBPOENAS 3 LEFT-WING GROUPS IN PROBE OF $39M TIED TO MARXIST TYCOON NEVILLE SINGHAM

Split image of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith and tech entrepreneur Neville Roy Singham.

Split image showing House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., left, and Marxist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham.Smith’s committee has subpoenaed organizations linked to Singham as part of an investigation into alleged foreign influence and nonprofit funding.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.via Getty Images;Steve Jennings/Getty Images)

In letters, attorneys for both organizations wrote in identical language, “A witch-hunt is not a valid legislative purpose,” arguing the committee’s public statements reflect “the language of the Red Scare.”

Both organizations argue they are not required to comply with the subpoenas as presently framed, saying the committee’s demands are too broad and seek information protected by the First Amendment.They leave open the possibility of responding if the committee narrows its demands.

The two responses, dated Aug.7 and shared on the organizations’ social media accounts, closely mirror each other in tone and substance.Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, co-founder and executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, a far-left nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., signed the letter from the People’s Forum.She co-signed the letter from BreakThrough News with Andrew Herman, an attorney also based in Washington, D.C.

Both attorneys have represented the nonprofit groups through earlier inquiries and compared the current congressional investigation to the work of the House Un-American Activities Committee, which investigated suspected communist influence and subversion in the United States in the late 1940s and 1950s.

According to digital records, the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund shares the same address at a Florida Avenue NW townhouse used by the ANSWER Coalition, a self-described communist group that also operates out of the People’s Forum headquarters on W.37th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

In both letters, the attorneys also argue the committee has strayed beyond its traditional role of overseeing tax law by venturing intoforeign influence, national security and alleged propaganda issues.

The committee, however, says in its July 21 subpoena cover letters that it’s seeking information about the organizations’ financing and structure to examine how Singham-linked money reached the tax-exempt groups and whether foreign influence was involved.The committee hasn’t accused any of the subpoenaed organizations of criminal wrongdoing or other illegal conduct.

The cover letters describe $40.3 million in funding that flowed from Singham’s network to BreakThrough News, People’s Forum and a third nonprofit, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, which describes its work as rooted in“national liberation Marxism.”Tricontinental also submitted a response by the Aug.7 deadline, according to a source familiar with the committee’s investigation.�t receive a response.

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The committee alleges theSingham networkrouted money through shell companies and donor-advised funds in ways that obscured the original source of the contributions.It says the investigation is examining whether existing tax laws adequately account for those funding arrangements and whether legislative changes are needed to address potential gaps.

The committee said the organizations failed to produce requested documents, while the organizations argued they weren’t legally required to comply with the requests as they were framed because they violatedFirst Amendment protections.

In aOf that funding, theBreakThrough News and the People’s Forum subpoena responses

‘MCCARTHY TRIALS’: HASAN PIKER, FAR-LEFT FIGURES ERUPT OVER SUBPOENAS IN $39M SINGHAM PROBE

Challenging the subpoenas

In arguing they can’t be required to comply with the subpoenas as written,BreakThrough News and People’s Forum say the committee is demanding far more information than it needs to investigate their finances, including records they say would expose their journalism, political activity, donors and associations.

The organizations argue they “cannot be required to respond” to a process that “seeks to punish, silence, expose, and condemnprotected expression.”

The committee disputes that argument, saying its investigation is examining whether existing tax laws governing tax-exempt organizations adequately account for foreign influence and whether Congress needs to strengthen those laws.

�After months of delay, I am disappointed but not surprised to see yet another attempt by tax-exempt organizations connected to Shanghai Singham to evade scrutiny.Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right.When organizations that receive generous taxpayer-funded benefits refuse to comply with lawful congressional oversight about potential foreign influence, the American people have every right to know what they are hiding.And we will continue pushing until the truth is uncovered.”

The committee hasn’t publicly said it has evidence the organizations are hiding information about foreign influence.

SUBPOENAED PRO-CHINA OUTLET DEFENDS ITSELF ON DEMOCRACY NOW!, WHICH PAID SINGHAM-FOUNDED COMPANY MILLIONS

Protesters at the anti-ICE rally on January 8, 2026, march towards the One World Trade Center in New York City.Peoples Forum helped organize the demonstration.

The organizations also claimed lawmakers repeatedly changed the stated purpose of the investigation as the organizations pushed back against earlier requests for information.

People’s Forum points to an apparent copy-and-paste error in the subpoena it received, arguing one definition references BreakThrough News instead of the People’s Forum.It argues the mistake bolsters its broader case that lawmakers failed to tailor their demands to the organization or show how all the records they seek are relevant to a legitimate legislative investigation.

The attorneys further contend that “the purpose of the letters and the subpoena is not legislative but rather for public exposure, public smearing, and personal aggrandizement,” accusing the committee of using the investigation to publicly discredit the organizations rather than pursue legitimate congressional oversight.

In identical language in the two letters, the organizations also allege the committee “provided“transmission to the intended [recipient],” allegedly making the inquiries designed for “public exposure” rather than legitimate legislative oversight.

�s letters after they had been delivered.

WATCH: Subpoenaed pro-China media outlet blasts House Singham probe on Democracy Now!

Echoed response

The written objections echo a public messaging and fundraising campaign launched by the organizations and their allies after the subpoenas became public, when supporters similarly portrayed the investigation as a revival of McCarthyism and an attack on independent journalism.

BreakThrough News host Rania Khalek recentlytook that argument to Democracy Now!, where she accused lawmakers of targeting the outlet because of its political views and journalism and encouraged viewers to financially support BreakThrough News as it fought the subpoenas.

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The organizations also launched fundraising and petition campaigns after the committee announced the subpoenas.People’s Forum sought tax-deductible donations for legal expenses and organizing, while Khalek directed supporters to a GoFundMe and an Action Network petition opposing the congressional investigation.