In a chilling development exposing the insidious reach of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) into American domestic affairs, House Republican leaders are demanding an immediate investigation into a network of tax-exempt organizations allegedly bankrolling opposition to crucial American data centers.
This is not merely local activism; this is an adversarial foreign power attempting to cripple America's emerging Artificial Intelligence infrastructure by weaponizing our own tax code. Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) and House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (MI-02) have fired off a scathing letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano, calling for a thorough probe.
The focus: whether 501(c)(3) groups knowingly served foreign interests and if anonymous donor-advised funds or intermediary groups concealed the true source of foreign-directed money. As the chairmen starkly warned, "Under no circumstances can we allow an adversary ... to weaponize our own tax code and harm an emerging American industry."
The signs of foreign influence have been mounting. OpenAI revealed in June that it had banned two clusters of ChatGPT accounts, likely originating in China, used in covert influence operations targeting American AI policy. One cluster, brazenly named "Data Center Bandwagon," manufactured content attacking U.S. data centers and falsely claiming they were driving up household electricity prices. These operators, according to OpenAI's case study, posed as Americans from various backgrounds, prompting ChatGPT in Simplified Chinese, and utilizing VPNs to obscure their tracks. It seems a private Chinese technology company's social-media team was doing the bidding of provincial-level government clients, undermining American progress from within.
Adding to this alarming pattern, X uncovered its own massive operation in August: a bot farm of approximately 200,000 suspected Chinese inauthentic accounts. Around 200 of these were actively pushing the same disingenuous narrative, claiming U.S. data centers were raising electricity prices and straining the power grid. It's a coordinated propaganda assault aimed at destabilizing American energy independence and technological advancement.
The financial trail, according to a Bitcoin Policy Institute report cited by the chairmen, leads directly to the Party for Socialism and Liberation. This group, along with its affiliates, has been linked to 21 campaigns across 14 states, resulting in 10 moratoria, one permanent ban, and four projects rejected or abandoned – a staggering blow of nearly $24 billion in proposed investment effectively sabotaged.
The letter further reveals a network allegedly tied to Shanghai-based billionaire Neville Roy Singham, who funneled a colossal $278 million into American advocacy groups through shell companies and an anonymous donor-advised fund. This is the financial muscle behind the disruption.
Eugene Puryear, co-founder of BreakThrough News, also co-founded the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Ben Becker, editor-in-chief of BreakThrough News, is also a member of the PSL central committee. Chairman Smith minced no words, stating, "This is not an organic grassroots movement. It's a machine with Shanghai Singham at the helm."
Chairman Moolenaar has made it clear: violations should lead to these groups losing their tax-exempt status, with potential prosecution on the table. The People's Forum, BreakThrough News, and Tricontinental have already brazenly refused committee document requests, prompting the issuance of subpoenas in July. Their defiance speaks volumes.
While OpenAI noted the China-linked operations exploited existing local energy debates, it did not categorize all opposition as foreign-directed. However, the critical question before Secretary Bessent and the IRS remains: did America's own tax-exempt system become an unwitting accomplice in a foreign adversary's plot to undermine our national security and economic future?
It is a grave betrayal of public trust when entities operating under the guise of American non-profits are found to be conduits for foreign hostile interests. This investigation is a crucial step in safeguarding American innovation, securing our critical infrastructure, and ensuring accountability for those who seek to undermine the nation from within and without. America First demands vigilance against all threats, especially those that hide in plain sight, funded by our adversaries.
