House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets Chairwoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) are expanding their investigation into Neville Roy Singham, a U.S. billionaire alleged to have connections with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and organizations linked to civil unrest in the United States. The lawmakers have sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, urging an evaluation to determine if federal sanctions or other penalties should be applied to entities organized and funded by Singham.
“The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating Chinese Communist Party (CCP) efforts to sow discord in the United States, and is conducting oversight over the U.S. Government’s ability and efforts under existing law to combat such efforts. Specifically, the Committee is investigating CCP influence operations that may fall within the purview of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), 22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq and other federal laws. We write today to request that the U.S. Department of Treasury and any relevant component thereof immediately undertake a formal evaluation to determine the applicability of federal sanctions laws and any other civil remedies or criminal penalties enforced by Treasury—to include the freezing or seizure of assets—with respect to certain far-left entities, organized and funded by Neville Roy Singham. It is imperative that we expeditiously halt the continued flow of funds and material support for malign activities conducted at the behest of the CCP,” wrote the lawmakers.
Reports indicate that affiliates connected with Singham were involved in violence in Los Angeles, which led then-President Trump to deploy the National Guard. In June, Comer’s committee requested documents regarding Singham’s financial ties with groups such as the Party for Socialism and Liberation but has not received a response from him. According to The New York Times, Singham has established a network channeling money through nonprofits like United Community Fund and Justice Education Fund toward media outlets supportive of pro-CCP positions.
“These reports suggest that Mr. Singham may have acted as an agent for the CCP. Under General Secretary Xi, 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.’ If Mr. Singham is carrying out this strategy on behalf of the CCP, he may have an unfulfilled FARA registration obligation. FARA’s purpose is ‘to protect the national defense, internal security, and foreign relations of the United States by requiring public disclosure by persons engaging in propaganda activities for or on behalf of foreign governments, foreign political parties, and other foreign principals.’ In addition to potential criminal liability for failing to register as a foreign agent under FARA these reported activities and the entities controlled by and funded by Mr. Singham raise the question of whether his assets and/or the assets of entities he controls or funds are subject to sanctions administered or enforced by Treasury and its components. We therefore request that the Treasury immediately undertake a formal evaluation to determine the applicability of any relevant sanctions and any other civil remedies or criminal penalties for Mr. Singham’s assets, and the assets of entities he controls or funds, including whether to freeze or seize such assets,” concluded Comer and Luna.
James Comer has represented Kentucky's 1st district in Congress since 2016 after replacing Ed Whitfield; before this role he served in Kentucky's House of Representatives from 2001-2012.https://comer.house.gov/about He was born in Carthage, Tennessee in 1972.https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/C001108 Comer graduated from Western Kentucky University with a BS degree in 1993.https://www.wku.edu/news/articles/index.php?view=article&articleid=3557
