House GOP launches probe of China-based billionaire linked to protest groups, including anti-ICE agitators in LA
The reclusive Neville Singham, who was born in Chicago but lives with his activist wife Jodie Evans in Shanghai, 'may have acted as an agent for the CCP' through his support of the demonstrations, GOP members of the House Oversight Committee alleged in letters to the billionaire himself as well as Bondi that have been obtained by The Post.
Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Declassification Taskforce Chairwoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who has threatened to subpoena Singham if he refuses to cooperate with their investigation, drew attention to the CCP's self-described 'Strategy of Sowing Discord' in the letters.
4 The reclusive Neville Singham was born in Chicago but lives with his activist wife Jodie Evans in Shanghai.
Getty Images for V-Day
'Under General Secretary Xi [Jinping], the CCP is known for its 'Strategy of Sowing Discord,' which 'refers to efforts to make internal disputes amongst the enemy so deep that they become distracted from conflict,'' Comer and Luna wrote in the letters, which were signed by 19 other Oversight GOPers.
'If you are, in fact, carrying out this strategy on behalf of the CCP, you may have a [Foreign Agents Registration Act] registration obligation. In addition, your funding and relationship with the PSL, which has been implicated in the violence and riots in Los Angeles, may violate other federal laws.'
The letters focus in particular on Singham's ties to the Party for Liberation and Socialism (PSL), as well as the People's Forum and the ANSWER Coalition, but request information about 16 other groups.
4 PSL has been involved in the Los Angeles-based demonstrations as well as other protests nationwide against federal immigration actions, according to public social media posts.
Toby Canham for NY Post
Public social media posts indicate PSL has been involved in the Los Angeles demonstrations as well as other protests nationwide against federal immigration actions, some of which have devolved into riots and property destruction.
The People's Forum and ANSWER Coalition have also helped organize large anti-Israel demonstrations in the US since the outbreak of Jewish state's war against Hamas in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
'Reportedly, you have supported these groups with the aim of causing destruction and division in our country — including most recently through ongoing riots and violence in Los Angles, California,' the Oversight Republicans said in the letter to Singham.
4 The Oversight lawmakers asked Attorney General Pam Bondi if he was part of a larger Chinese Communist Party influence operation.
AP
'You have created an elaborate dark money network which allows you to send funds to a series of non-profits,' they added, 'that have almost no real footprints.'
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), now secretary of state, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) had asked Biden's DOJ last year to look into any activities Singham may have been supporting 'on behalf of the CCP' to promote civil unrest in the US, the Oversight panel noted.
Both Singham, the founder of the software firm Thoughtworks and a purported admirer of Maoism, and Evans have denied working for the Chinese government, but have shared office space with the Maku Group — a CCP-promoting propaganda network.
4 'You have created an elaborate dark money network which allows you to send funds to a series of non-profits,' the GOP lawmakers added, 'that have almost no real footprints.'
Toby Canham for NY Post
Dark money nonprofits connected to Singham — including the United Community Fund and the Justice Education Fund — have also bankrolled Maku's operations, according to an extensive New York Times report cited by the Oversight panel.
'Maku's website shows young people gathering in Mr. Singham's office, facing a banner that reads, 'Always Follow the Party,' with an image of General Secretary Xi Jinping in the background,' the Republicans wrote.
'Moreover, it appears that Mr. Singham supports BreakThrough Media, a platform known for promoting pro-CCP talking points and geopolitical interests.'
Singham, 71, sold the tech company to a private equity firm for $785 million in 2017.
Evans, 70, co-founded the anti-war group Code Pink, which Republicans have also accused of ties to the Chinese government, and currently sits on the board of the People's Forum.
Alex Goldenberg, senior advisor to the National Contagion Research Institute, which tracks disinformation on social media platforms, previously told The Post: 'The Singham network operates as a coordinated movement incubator.'
The Post reached out to reps for Singham and the Justice Department for comment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
31 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Beijing's Trade Tactics, Ukraine Stance Cast Pall Over Europe-China Ties
BRUSSELS—China and Europe face a common threat from President Trump's tariffs. That isn't enough to bring the two economies closer. Instead, European frustration is mounting over Beijing's support for Russia's war in Ukraine and what officials view as a flood of low-cost products on global markets.
Bloomberg
31 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
US Trade Talks Overshadow EU-China Climate Pledge
Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. We're keen to hear your views on this newsletter. Please participate in our short survey. EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa are in Beijing today for the signing of a landmark climate cooperation document with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Von der Leyen told Xi that relations were at 'an inflection point.' But the historic moment is at risk of being overshadowed by rapidly evolving EU-US trade talks. Brussels and Washington are progressing toward an agreement that would set a 15% tariff for most imports, according to diplomats briefed on the negotiations, though the EU is still pushing for cars to be included in that rate. Steel and aluminum imports above a certain quota potentially face a higher tariff of 50%. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro sounded a word of caution about the prospect of a deal. 'Never, never assume that anything's fixed until the boss says it's fixed,' he told Bloomberg in an interview yesterday.
News24
31 minutes ago
- News24
Trump's name appears in Jeffrey Epstein files - but it's ‘fake news' says White House
Donald Trump's name appears in the Jeffrey Epstein files. The White House released an initial statement characterising it as 'fake news'. Epstein's longtime pilot testified that Trump flew on Epstein's private plane. US Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Donald Trump in May that his name appeared in investigative files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The disclosure about Trump's appearance in the Justice Department's case records threatened to deepen a political crisis that has engulfed his administration for weeks. Some Trump supporters for years have fanned conspiracy theories about Epstein's clients and the circumstances of his 2019 death in prison. The White House sent mixed signals following the story. It released an initial statement characterising it as 'fake news', but a White House official later told Reuters the administration was not denying that Trump's name appears in some files, noting that Trump was already included in a tranche of materials Bondi assembled in February for conservative influencers. Trump, who was friendly with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, appears multiple times on flight logs for Epstein's private plane in the 1990s. Trump and several members of his family also appear in an Epstein contact book, alongside hundreds of others. Much of that material had been publicly released in the criminal case against Epstein's former associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after her conviction for child sex trafficking and other crimes. During her trial, Epstein's longtime pilot testified that Trump flew on Epstein's private plane multiple times. Trump has denied being on the plane. Reuters was not able to immediately verify the Journal's report. Trump has faced intense backlash from his own supporters after his administration said it would not release the files, reversing a campaign promise. The Justice Department said in a memo earlier this month that there was no basis to continue probing the Epstein case, sparking anger among some prominent Trump supporters who demanded more information about wealthy and powerful people who had interacted with Epstein. Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing related to Epstein and has said their friendship ended before Epstein's legal troubles first began two decades ago. Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a statement that did not directly address the Journal's report. 'Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts,' the officials said. 'As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings.' The newspaper reported that Bondi and her deputy told Trump at a White House meeting that his name, as well as those of 'many other high-profile figures', appeared in the files. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, to which he had pleaded not guilty. In a separate case, Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to a prostitution charge in Florida and received a 13-month sentence in what is now widely regarded as too lenient a deal with prosecutors. Under political pressure last week, Trump directed the Justice Department to seek the release of sealed grand jury transcripts related to Epstein. On Wednesday, US District Judge Robin Rosenberg denied one of those requests, finding that it did not fall into any of the exceptions to rules requiring grand jury material be kept secret. That motion stemmed from federal investigations into Epstein in 2005 and 2007, according to court documents; the department has also requested the unsealing of transcripts in Manhattan federal court related to later indictments brought against Epstein and Maxwell. Handout/US District Court for the Southern District of New York/AFP Last week, the Journal reported that Trump had sent Epstein a bawdy birthday note in 2003 that ended: 'Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret.' Reuters has not confirmed the authenticity of the alleged letter. Trump has sued the Journal and its owners, including billionaire Rupert Murdoch, asserting that the birthday note was fake. Trump and his advisers have long engaged in conspiracy theories, including about Epstein, that have resonated with Trump's political base. The Make American Great Again movement's broad refusal to accept his administration's argument that those theories are now unfounded is unusual for a politician who is accustomed to enjoying relatively unchallenged loyalty from his supporters. Epstein hanged himself in prison, according to the New York City chief medical examiner. But his connections with wealthy and powerful individuals prompted speculation that his death was not a suicide. The Justice Department said in its memo this month that it had concluded Epstein died by his own hand. In a sign of how the issue has bedevilled Trump and divided his fellow Republicans, US House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday abruptly said he would send lawmakers home for the summer a day early to avoid a floor fight over a vote on the Epstein files. His decision temporarily stymied a push by Democrats and some Republicans for a vote on a bipartisan resolution that would require the Justice Department to release all Epstein-related documents. But a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday approved a subpoena seeking all Justice Department files on Epstein. Three Republicans joined five Democrats to back the effort, in a sign that Trump's party was not ready to move on from the issue. Trump, stung and frustrated by the continued focus on the Epstein story, has sought to divert attention to other topics, including unfounded accusations that former President Barack Obama undermined Trump's successful 2016 presidential campaign. Obama's office denounced the allegations as 'ridiculous'. More than two-thirds of Americans believe the Trump administration is hiding information about Epstein's clients, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week.
