BreakThrough News, People’s Forum claim subpoenas violate First Amendment

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-China media 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.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., 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.

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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 into foreign 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. Fox News Digital reached out to Tricontinental and its attorney for comment and a copy of the letter but didn’t receive a response.

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The committee alleges the Singham network routed 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.

Singham, a 72-year-old American who sold his software company, ThoughtWorks, for an estimated $785 million in 2017 and now lives in Shanghai, has directed at least $278 million into six core nonprofits that Fox News Digital previously reported promote socialist, communist and pro-China causes as part of a broader international network of media organizations, activist groups and think tanks.

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 violated First Amendment protections.

In a five-part investigation, Fox News Digital traced how the six nonprofits into which Singham poured $278 million serve as key funding hubs in a broader international network of nonprofits, activist groups and media organizations.

Of that funding, the Fox News Digital investigation found Singham pumped $22.44 million to People’s Forum, $16.76 million to Tricontinental and $1.098 million to BreakThrough BT Media Inc., the parent organization of BreakThrough News. The total amounted to $40.298 million.

BreakThrough News and the People’s Forum subpoena responses

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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 condemn protected 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.

Smith told Fox News Digital, “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.

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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” correspondence from July 21 about the subpoenas to Fox News Digital before “transmission to the intended recepient,” allegedly making the inquiries designed for “public exposure” rather than legitimate legislative oversight.

Fox News Digital published its article about the committee’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 recently took 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.

As Fox News Digital previously reported, Marxist Twitch streamer Hasan Piker called the subpoenas “the McCarthy trials” on X, warning, “They will come for you.”

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, a pro-China left-wing activist group that has received funding linked to Singham, called the subpoenas a “terrible attack on independent journalism,” adding, “We stand with you!!!”

July 21, 2026, House Ways and Means Committee subpoena cover letters

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