Rubio: We Must Not Let China Succeed In Its Information War Against United States

Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R), who serves as Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joined Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, to warn U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to present a briefing on the DOJ’s strategy in countering Beijing’s propaganda efforts and the status of DOJ’s investigation of these efforts, if any.

• “According to investigations by the New York Times and the Washington Free Beacon, Neville Roy Singham, a U.S. citizen with ties to the CCP, has been funding and supporting various extremist entities in the United States with the express aim of causing havoc in our country. Many of these groups have increased their activism in the wake of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 brutal terrorist attack on Israel. These groups have not only disrupted Senate proceedings, but have engaged in violent, antisemitic riots in many cities across the United States.”
• “These reports suggest that Mr. Singham has expanded his network to include not only far-left, pro-CCP entities, but also radical, antisemitic entities. One such organization is Shut It Down for Palestine (SID4P), an entity established in October 2023.  According to the Network Contagion Research Institute, “Conveners,” or organizations operating under the SID4P umbrella, are members of Singham’s donor portfolio. These organizations include the People’s Forum, ANSWER Coalition, International People’s Assembly, Al-Awda NY, National Students for Justice in Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement, and Palestinian American Community Center NJ.  Some of these groups have ties to U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations such as Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).  Moreover, one of SID4P’s “Endorsers” is an entity known as Samidoun, which, according to some open source reporting, is a front for the PFLP.”

Flashback… In August 2023, Rubio sent a letter to Attorney General Garland to ensure the DOJ is investigating whether Singham, and left wing pro-CCP organizations, are complying with FARA.

The full text of the letter is below.

Dear Attorney General Garland:  

We write to express our concern over efforts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its allies to sow discord in the United States. Specifically, we request that you immediately provide a briefing on your efforts to investigate recent reports suggesting that certain far-left and antisemitic entities may have committed Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) violations given their ties to Beijing.

According to investigations by the New York Times and the Washington Free Beacon, Neville Roy Singham, a U.S. citizen with ties to the CCP, has been funding and supporting various extremist entities in the United States with the express aim of causing havoc in our country. Many of these groups have increased their activism in the wake of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 brutal terrorist attack on Israel. These groups have not only disrupted Senate proceedings, but have engaged in violent, antisemitic riots in many cities across the United States.

According to these same reports, Mr. Singham, who resides in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), has a long track-record of assisting far-left entities, such as Code Pink, that oppose U.S. interests and support U.S. adversaries. He has created an elaborate dark money network which allows him to send funds to a series of non-profits, such as the “United Community Fund” and “Justice and Education Fund,” that have almost no real-world footprints. Non-profit filings show that nearly $1.8 million flowed from these non-profits to Chinese media company Maku Group. Maku’s website shows young people gathering in Mr. Singham’s office, facing a red banner that reads, “Always Follow the Party,” with an image of General Secretary of the CCP, Xi Jinping, in the background. Moreover, it appears that Mr. Singham supports BreakThrough Media, a platform known for promoting pro-CCP talking points and geopolitical interests. According to the New York Times, reporters “tracked hundreds of millions of dollars to groups linked to Mr. Singham that mix progressive advocacy with Chinese government talking points.”  

These reports suggest that Mr. Singham has expanded his network to include not only far-left, pro-CCP entities, but also radical, antisemitic entities. One such organization is Shut It Down for Palestine (SID4P), an entity established in October 2023. According to the Network Contagion Research Institute, “Conveners,” or organizations operating under the SID4P umbrella, are members of Singham’s donor portfolio. These organizations include the People’s Forum, ANSWER Coalition, International People’s Assembly, Al-Awda NY, National Students for Justice in Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement, and Palestinian American Community Center NJ. Some of these groups have ties to U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations such as Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Moreover, one of SID4P’s “Endorsers” is an entity known as Samidoun, which, according to some open source reporting, is a front for the PFLP.

As you are no doubt aware, the CCP is engaged in an all-out information war against the United States. Beijing seeks to influence foreign audiences around two key precepts: “united front work” and “external propaganda work.” United front work involves garnering support for the CCP and its objectives while neutralizing opposition, whereas external propaganda work is centered around controlling the information domain in foreign countries to align with Beijing’s preferences. Indeed, General Secretary Xi has emphasized that influence operations are one of Beijing’s three “magic weapons,” a concept first delineated by the founder of the PRC, Chairman Mao Zedong. 

Make no mistake: we must not allow the CCP to succeed in winning the information war it is actively waging against our country. The United States can and should protect legitimate political discourse, but we must not tolerate attempts by our primary adversary to exploit our open system to promote its malign agenda. Accordingly, we request a briefing on what steps the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies are taking to counter the CCP’s disinformation campaign in the United States.

In your briefing, we request that you address any investigative efforts into the following organizations, and all related organizations linked to Mr. Singham, for potential violations of FARA:

1. Code Pink
2. No Cold War
3. Tricontinental
4. United Community Fund
5. Justice and Education Fund
6. People’s Support Foundation
7. New Frame
8. People’s Forum
9. Dongsheng News
10. Shut It Down for Palestine
11. ANSWER Coalition
12. International People’s Assembly
13. Al-Awda NY
14. National Students for Justice in Palestine
15. Palestinian Youth Movement 
16. Palestinian American Community Center NJ 
17. Samidoun
18. BreakThrough Media 

Thank you for your attention to this matter.