House Ways and Means Committee cites BreakThrough News regarding Neville Roy Singham's pro-China funding network

BreakThrough News, a media outlet that critics and Republican lawmakers describe as pro-Beijing, has come out to publicly defend itself on the left-wing program Democracy Now! after receiving a subpoena from the House Ways and Means Committee.

During an interview, BreakThrough News host Rania Khalek, called the subpoenas a "flagrant attack" on the First Amendment and a tactic straight out of the McCarthy era. According to Khalek, Congress is attempting to "criminalize dissent and an independent press because they’re losing the argument."

As reported by Fox News, the Committee maintains that its investigation has nothing to do with BreakThrough News' editorial opinions, but rather with its "financing arrangements and organizational structure." In the letter accompanying the subpoenas, the panel expressly rejected arguments that freedom of speech was being violated.

What the committee is actually investigating

The Republican panel is investigating the funding network of American tech entrepreneur Neville Roy Singham, who resides in China. Singham sold his company ThoughtWorks in 2017 for approximately $785 million and has since directed at least $278 million to a group of left-wing nonprofit organizations, media outlets and research centers.

The Ways and Means Committee is examining approximately $39 million which, according to its data, is said to have gone to BreakThrough News, The People's Forum and the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, which describes its work as rooted in "national liberation Marxism." According to a preliminary investigation by Fox News Digital cited by the committee, BreakThrough BT Media Inc. received approximately $1.1 million linked to Singham.

The committee alleges that the network has channeled funds through shell companies and advised donor funds, making it difficult to identify the actual source of the money. The three organizations received subpoenas after failing, according to the committee, to voluntarily turn over the requested documents.

Organizations linked to Singham's circle, including CodePink, have regularly participated in anti-ICE, anti-Israel and pro-Iran protests. In March 2026, several figures from that circle traveled to Cuba to express their support for the island's communist government.

Democracy Now! and Singham's money

According to Fox News, documents from the IRS show that Democracy Now! paid approximately $2.5 million to ThoughtWorks, the company founded by Singham (sold in 2017), between 2019 and 2024. Democracy Now! is not under investigation by the committee, nor are those payments part of the inquiry.

While BreakThrough News and its supporters portray the subpoenas as a political silencing campaign, the Republican committee insists that the goal is to determine whether current laws governing nonprofit organizations adequately protect the United States from foreign influence.