Marxist Nonprofits Tell Congress to Pound Sand After Subpoenas Demand Financial Records

Two radical nonprofits tied to Marxist tech millionaire Neville Roy Singham just told Congress exactly where to stick its subpoenas. Their excuse? The First Amendment, naturally. Because apparently nothing says constitutional protection quite like refusing to explain where your money comes from when you’re accused of pushing Chinese Communist Party propaganda on American soil.

The People’s Forum and BreakThrough News fired off defiant letters this week to the House Ways and Means Committee, rejecting demands for financial records and accusing Republican lawmakers of targeting their political views. The People’s Forum went full resistance mode, calling the investigation a “MAGA-led witch hunt.” BreakThrough News claims the committee is retaliating against their coverage of Israel and immigration enforcement. You know what’s missing from both responses? Any actual transparency about their funding sources or operational structure.

Here’s what makes this story matter beyond the typical DC tug-of-war over document production. We’re not talking about some fringe blog operating out of someone’s basement. The People’s Forum runs a Manhattan activist hub that coordinates with over 100 global organizations, labor unions, and communist groups. BreakThrough News operates as a nonprofit media outlet pushing far-left narratives while enjoying tax-exempt status. And they’re all connected to Singham, an American citizen living in Shanghai who’s allegedly funneling millions through this network.

Chairman Jason Smith and his committee aren’t investigating these groups because they dislike their politics. Congress has every right to scrutinize tax-exempt organizations, especially when there’s credible concern they’re functioning as cutouts for foreign influence. The probe centers on whether Singham’s money machine is being used to advance CCP interests inside the United States. That’s not a First Amendment issue. That’s a national security question dressed up in constitutional drag.

The lawyers for BreakThrough News complained that the committee is “holding the staff hostage” by threatening to depose seven newsroom employees. They made sure to note that Singham is a U.S. citizen, as if that somehow invalidates concerns about a guy who lives in Shanghai and reportedly maintains close ties to Chinese state media. Being an American citizen doesn’t give you a free pass to act as Beijing’s influence peddler. It actually makes it worse because you should know better.

Think about the broader pattern here. We’ve spent years watching American institutions get compromised by foreign money while hiding behind noble-sounding principles. Universities take Chinese cash and suddenly discover nuanced views on Hong Kong. Think tanks accept Gulf state funding and their policy papers get mysteriously specific. Now we’ve got nonprofits refusing basic financial disclosure while crying persecution.

The People’s Forum claims eight staff members are being threatened with depositions as retaliation for asserting First Amendment rights. That’s some creative framing. Congressional oversight of tax-exempt organizations isn’t retaliation. It’s literally part of the job description for the Ways and Means Committee. These groups want the benefits of nonprofit status without the accountability that comes with it.

Both organizations rushed to their websites begging supporters for donations to fund their legal defense. Nothing quite says grassroots authenticity like lawyering up and fundraising off your refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas. The whole performance reeks of calculated defiance designed to rally their activist base while dodging legitimate questions about foreign influence.

Singham himself now faces the prospect of being personally deposed by congressional investigators. He’s one of 21 potential witnesses identified by the committee, along with nonprofit executives, activists, and journalists associated with this network. Good. If you’re going to build an empire of tax-exempt organizations while living in Shanghai and allegedly coordinating with Chinese state interests, you should answer questions under oath.

The irony is thick enough to cut with a knife. These groups position themselves as brave truth-tellers speaking truth to power, but they fold like a cheap suit the moment Congress asks them to document their funding sources. Real journalists and legitimate nonprofits understand that transparency is the price of credibility. Refusing basic financial disclosure while simultaneously demanding public trust is the kind of hustle that only works in activist circles that abandoned intellectual consistency years ago.

This standoff matters because it tests whether Congress can still conduct meaningful oversight of organizations that may be compromising American interests. If these groups successfully stonewall the investigation by wrapping themselves in the First Amendment, it sets a dangerous precedent. Every foreign-backed influence operation will adopt the same playbook: register as a nonprofit, produce some content, then scream constitutional persecution when anyone asks questions.

The committee needs to hold firm and force compliance. Not because these groups hold unpopular political views, but because American citizens deserve to know when foreign powers are funding operations on our soil. That’s not a witch hunt. That’s basic accountability in a republic that’s supposedly still serious about sovereignty.