WASHINGTON, July 23 (DC Times Online) — House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., has subpoenaed The People’s Forum Inc., BreakThrough News and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, ordering the organizations to produce records by Aug. 7 in a months-long inquiry into money the committee says is tied to former tech executive Neville Roy Singham.
The subpoenas escalate a fight that started with earlier document requests. In a May 5 release, the committee said the groups had not provided the records it wanted and that their replies had failed to include “a single responsive document.” Smith said then that the panel was prepared to use subpoenas if the groups would not comply.
What is the committee looking into?
The committee says its investigation centers on more than $39 million it believes flowed from Singham to the three organizations. Fox News reported that the subpoena letters cite $22.44 million to The People’s Forum, $16.76 million to Tricontinental and $1.098 million to BreakThrough BT Media Inc., the entity behind BreakThrough News.
In its May 5 statement, the committee described Singham as a former U.S. technology mogul living in Shanghai and said the organizations were part of a network in the United States the panel believes has links to the Chinese Communist Party. Those are the committee’s allegations, not court findings.
The committee also said The People’s Forum has publicly acknowledged receiving funding from Singham. It cited public reporting saying more than $20 million flowed to the group from Singham and his wife between 2017 and 2022 through shell companies and donor-advised funds.
How did the inquiry get here?
The current subpoenas came after a series of earlier requests. The Ways and Means Committee said it first wrote to The People’s Forum on Sept. 4, 2025, and to Tricontinental and BreakThrough News on Feb. 9, 2026. After the organizations’ attorneys refused to comply, the panel said it sent narrower requests on May 4, 2026.
The broader congressional scrutiny started even earlier. On June 13, 2025, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee wrote to Singham seeking documents and information about funding and control over the Party for Socialism and Liberation, The People’s Forum and the ANSWER Coalition. That letter said the committee was looking at whether Singham might be acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party and whether any activity could raise Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, concerns.
FARA is the law that requires some people and organizations acting on behalf of foreign principals to register with the Justice Department.
Why do the subpoenas matter?
A subpoena is a formal legal demand for records or testimony. In Congress, it is often used when lawmakers say voluntary requests have not worked. For the organizations now under subpoena, the immediate effect is a legal deadline: turn over the requested materials by Aug. 7 or face a deeper compliance fight.
The case also shows how House committees use their tax and oversight powers to examine nonprofit funding, fiscal sponsorships and possible foreign influence. Ways and Means is the House’s tax-writing committee, so it often looks at records that could shed light on where money comes from and how tax-exempt groups are structured. A fiscal sponsorship is an arrangement in which one group handles donations or administration for another.
The committee has not publicly released the full subpoena text in the material available here, so the exact list of documents it wants is not fully visible. But the paper trail shows the escalation clearly: initial letters, narrower follow-up requests and now compulsory process.
