House Committee Launches Investigation into Chinese Influence in U.S. Nonprofits

Hours before convening a hearing on “malign foreign influence,” House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith intensified his investigation into Neville Roy Singham, an American-born Marxist tech tycoon based in China who is allegedly spreading Chinese propaganda through U.S. nonprofit organizations.

Smith sent letters Monday night to two U.S. nonprofits – BreakThrough BT Media Inc. and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research – demanding records of their connections to Singham. The chairman alleges these tax-exempt organizations are promoting propaganda aligned with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while potentially operating as unregistered foreign agents.

“Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right,” Smith told Fox News Digital. “Nonprofits must remain accountable and refuse to act as instruments of hostile foreign governments.”

The investigation comes amid growing concerns about foreign influence operations exploiting U.S. tax laws to inject anti-American messaging into domestic protest movements. Congressional investigators claim the Singham network sits at the center of a sophisticated operation that uses nonprofits to sow discord within American society.

According to committee documents, the operation functions as a full-spectrum campaign, with funding aligned with foreign interests flowing into tax-exempt nonprofits that produce ideological research, media content, and social media messaging. These resources are then deployed through coordinated street protests across the country.

Over the past year, observers have documented a pattern of synchronized demonstrations by socialist, communist, and Marxist groups that align with the strategic interests of foreign governments, particularly China. The coordination extends across funding, media amplification, ideological framing, and street-level mobilization.

In his letter to Karla Reyes, chair and director of BreakThrough, Smith expressed concern about the organization’s alleged connections to CCP-linked groups and questioned whether it deserves to maintain its 501(c)(3) status. He cited Supreme Court precedent stating that “the presence of a single nonexempt purpose, if substantial in nature, will destroy the exemption regardless of the number or importance of truly exempt purposes.”

The chairman noted that since its founding, BreakThrough has produced content that “aligns with pro-CCP rhetoric” while portraying China in an “overwhelmingly positive light.” Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Smith wrote that the organization “dramatically shifted their coverage in a way that suggests its intent on sowing division within the United States.”

The investigation places BreakThrough within a broader network including Tricontinental, the People’s Forum, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and the ANSWER Coalition. These groups have reportedly worked alongside organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America to mobilize protests and coordinate messaging during high-profile events, from immigration enforcement actions to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

In a separate letter to Vijay Prashad, executive director of Tricontinental, Smith expressed concern about the organization’s alleged role in “spreading Marxist and anti-American rhetoric.” Committee investigators linked Prashad directly to Chinese state institutions, noting his position as a senior fellow at a think tank connected to China’s Ministry of Education and his participation in conferences hosted by CCP-funded universities.

The committee also documented Tricontinental’s financial relationship with Maku Group, a Chinese media company whose stated mission is to “tell China’s story well.” Records show Tricontinental paid the firm more than $2.1 million for “research, analysis, and translation services.”

Researchers from the Network Contagion Research Institute have identified what they call “narrative convergence,” where these nonprofits echo propaganda from foreign adversaries. Their report documented how some groups sent delegations to China, Cuba, and Venezuela and then deployed similar anti-U.S. rhetoric at domestic protests upon their return.

National security analysts describe the situation as part of a “cognitive war” in which foreign adversaries attempt to weaponize outrage, protest, and information to weaken the United States from within.

The committee hearing, titled “Foreign Influence in American Non-profits: Unmasking Threats from Beijing and Beyond,” will be broadcast online through the committee’s website. Singham, Tricontinental, and BreakThrough did not respond to requests for comment.