Oversight demands DOJ answers on foreign funding of agitator groups as Iran, anti-ICE protests continue

FIRST ON FOX: The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform requested a briefing from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Attorney General Pam Bondi on the dark money funding behind agitator groups involved in anti-ICE demonstrations across the country.

The committee sent a letter to Bondi on Monday as anti-U.S. protests ramp up amid attacks on Iran, largely funded by CPP-connected millionaire and Shanghai resident Neville Roy Singham.

"The Committee seeks to understand [DOJ] efforts to track or assess possible connections among organized efforts to obstruct law enforcement with foreign influences and criminal activities, including fraud," the letter read.

"The Committee believes it is imperative to assess whether foreign-sourced funding and/or proceeds of financial crimes, particularly those involving federal funds, may be contributing to, or otherwise exacerbating unrest and efforts to obstruct law enforcement," the letter added.

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Prior to the attacks on Iran over the weekend, one group called for an "emergency nationwide day of action" to "stop the war with Iran."

Following President Donald Trump’s announcement of the attack, The People’s Forum, an organization that has admitted to receiving tens of millions of dollars from Singham, mobilized agitators for a protest. 

Fox News Digital reached out to The People’s Forum and Singham but did not receive a response in time for publication.

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Singham sold his IT consulting firm in 2017 for $785 million and relocated to Shanghai. In 2023, a New York Times investigation examined his alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party and reported claims that he had funded extremist organizations in pursuit of advancing his radical political views.

The Shanghai resident cannot be subpoenaed by Congress, due to him living in China, but he has been the focus of several congressional inquiries and hearings related to foreign funding being funneled into U.S. demonstrations, riots, and protests.  

In January, a Fox News Digital investigation found several organizations were behind mobilizing agitators in Minneapolis and communicated through multiple channels to encourage agitators to take to the streets in Minnesota and other cities following the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

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Good and Pretti were killed by federal law enforcement agents after DHS said both were impeding law enforcement operations to apprehend criminal illegal migrants. 

"In response to federal response and enforcement actions, Minnesota has experienced repeated episodes of civil unrest, including incidents of property damage, assaults on law enforcement, and disruptions to public institutions," the House Oversight Committee letter explains. "While peaceful protest is a protected feature of American society, recurring unrest places measurable strain on local communities and public safety resources."

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Specifically, the committee is requesting "the extent to which DOJ has identified or been made aware of patterns in major fraud cases suggesting coordinated or systemic activity beyond isolated criminal enterprises."

The committee is also asking how the DOJ "is assessing the routing of fraud schemes through nonprofit, community-based, or organizational entities" and if the Justice Department "is evaluating whether large-scale financial crimes involving federal funds may contribute to broader public safety or civil order challenges in certain jurisdictions."

A March 9 deadline was set by the committee for a briefing from the DOJ.

The DOJ did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.