How Bad Is Foreign Influence In America's Nonprofit Universe?

Jun 12, 2026 ·
How Bad Is Foreign Influence In America's Nonprofit Universe?

In February, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing titled "Foreign Influence in American Nonprofits: Unmasking Threats from Beijing and Beyond." While Democrats deflected and tried to make the hearing about MAGA and free speech, the underlying topic remains important.

So how bad is foreign influence in America's nonprofit universe? It turns out: very bad.

The Muslim Brotherhood

Earlier this week, the New York Post published a story reporting that CAIR was under investigation by HHS for alleged fraud. The report referred to CAIR receiving $30 million in taxpayer dollars to resettle Afghan refugees, with little proof of how the money was spent.

In HHS letters to the governors of California and Washington, the states in which the alleged fraud occurred, the agency stated that it had been informed that "there may be connections between CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood and its Palestinian branch, Hamas."

The governors of Texas and Florida have both designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization and a transnational criminal organization in 2025, while also taking actions against CAIR.

If CAIR is, in fact, a terror-connected foreign influence operation operating under the guise of tax-deductible American 501(c)(3) nonprofits, that should be of great concern. A look at CAIR's current chapter directory shows approximately 30 active offices and chapters across the Homeland. That figure does not include affiliated mosques with overlapping leadership, nor former CAIR operatives who have gone on to work in government, politics, media, and related fields.

Cuban Intelligence

Just last week, Marco Rubio and the State Department sanctioned ICAP, a known front organization for the Cuban intelligence service. One might ask how this is connected to domestic nonprofits. The answer is: directly, and on a scale that is difficult for the public to understand.

Back in the 1960s, members of the radical-left student group SDS visited Fidel Castro's communist regime in Cuba. Some members of that delegation reportedly received training in guerrilla warfare, including bomb-making techniques. A few years later, some of those individuals went on to form the Weather Underground, America's most notorious domestic terrorist organization, which bombed nearly two dozen federal buildings.

We asked the simple question late last year:

While members of the Weather Underground were in hiding, they allegedly passed messages to one another through the Cuban Embassy.

These radical students were trained through ICAP, a Cuban front organization that has continued hosting American left-wing activist delegations since the 1960s. In the last decade, these efforts have reportedly expanded with assistance from the National Network on Cuba (NNOC), which holds meetings at the Cuban Embassy.

The NNOC website lists 77 American nonprofit organizations as members of its network. Some of these organizations have nationwide chapter structures and multi-million-dollar budgets.

The Neville Roy Singham Network

As has been widely reported, the nonprofit network associated with Neville Roy Singham is also national in scope.

The ANSWER Coalition, which organizes national protests, lists 14 chapters on its website.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), the political party associated with this network, lists 66 chapters nationwide and is currently running candidates for public office.

CODEPINK, which has faced scrutiny regarding sanctions-related issues, lists 12 chapters on its website.

The network's headquarters is The People's Forum in New York City. In 23 cities, activists organize through "Liberation Centers," which serve as hubs for local organizing, protest activity, and support for PSL political campaigns.

Domestic Politics and the DSA

Perhaps the most significant avenue through which foreign influence affects American politics is the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which has increasingly become a coalition of organizations and interests with extensive international connections.

The DSA announced in January that it had surpassed 100,000 members in 2025, including an additional 5,000 members in New York City. The organization has also celebrated a series of electoral victories, including the election of New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani. The DSA estimates that roughly 250 elected officials nationwide are affiliated with the organization, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Where did the DSA's foreign influence begin? That is difficult to determine, but its international affiliations have expanded significantly over the last decade.

David Duhalde, who served as DSA Deputy Director from 2015 to 2018, is reportedly in a relationship with a member of Samidoun, an organization that has been designated in some jurisdictions as a front group for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

In 2017, the DSA passed a BDS resolution. Two months later, Linda Sarsour announced her membership in the organization.

In 2019, the DSA passed a Cuba solidarity resolution and joined the ICAP-connected National Network on Cuba (NNOC).

In 2023, the DSA joined Progressive International, a transnational political network whose board includes Fidel Castro's niece, Jeremy Corbyn, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Wang Hui of Tsinghua University in Beijing, Yanis Varoufakis, and a variety of similar socialist politicians, academics, and diplomats from around the world.

Considering the scale of these networks and their ability to influence protests, elections, and public policy, the United States faces a significant challenge. The extent to which foreign actors and foreign-aligned organizations can shape domestic political movements raises legitimate questions about transparency, accountability, and national sovereignty.

Last month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at a regular press briefing that a coming crackdown was nearing for dark-money-funded NGOs and alleged foreign influence operations routed through far-left activist networks.

Even the globalist at The Atlantic had to admit...  

Here, the exchange between a reporter and Bessent suggests the potential enforcement phase has already begun:

Reporter: "I want to ask you about Antifa. In October, the Treasury Department started working with the FBI to investigate who's funding Antifa. Can you give us an update on that investigation? How close are you guys finding out who is funding it?"

Scott Bessent: "It is ongoing. We made substantial progress, and I think in the weeks and months ahead, we are going to have a lot to report."

(Bessent continues on IRS guidance for nonprofits): "The IRS is now giving guidance on the Form 990, which nonprofits they have to file. We are going to demand that nonprofits know their grant recipients. So if a grant recipient is violent, if they are suppressing people's rights, then YOU are responsible for that. And I think that's a very good first step."

Watch the Exchange:

Certain NGOs and left-wing activist networks have evolved far beyond traditional nonprofit missions of charity and public benefit, instead functioning as a permanent protest-industrial complex advancing anti-capitalist and anti-Western agendas. This has fueled unrest, mobilized protests, psyops, and worked to obstruct President Trump's pro-America agenda under the banner of social justice.

Bitcoin Policy Institute exposed:

All eyes are now on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's expected crackdown.

Tyler Durden Fri, 06/12/2026 - 18:50