Trump administration subpoenas Hasan Piker in Cuba sanctions investigation

FIRST ON FOX: Federal authorities have issued subpoenas to Marxist political influencer Hasan Piker and CodePink co-founder Susan Medea Benjamin as part of a broader investigation into whether U.S. organizations and leaders violated U.S. laws and sanctions to support Cuba’s communist regime, Fox News Digital has learned.

Piker and Benjamin are among those caught up in a federal investigation into whether activists who traveled to Cuba in March violated U.S. sanctions laws through the financing, coordination or delivery of goods to Cuba, including possible contact with Cuban government personnel or entities on the island. The administrative subpoenas were issued to the couple by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The administrative subpoenas, called “Requests for Information,” or RFIs, seek financial, logistical and contact information from a global network of communist sympathizers, activists and influencers revolving around trips the country boasted of taking to the island nation in March with delegations of the “Nuestra América Convoy,” or “Our America Convoy,” bringing supplies to the ruling Cuban Communist Party, according to people familiar with the matter.

The investigation is part of a broader effort by officials at the Treasury, State and Justice departments to disrupt malicious foreign influence operations within the United States, particularly activities aimed at supporting political violence, extremist movements or actions that the U.S. government classifies as terrorism. The review reflects growing concern among federal officials and lawmakers about whether foreign actors and affiliated organizations seek to shape American political discourse, mobilize activists, sow discord and normalize rhetoric that could incite violence or undermine U.S. national security interests.

Singham has poured $278 million into nonprofit groups promoting pro-China, pro-Cuban, anti-US narratives and street protests over the nearly decade since his marriage to CodePink co-founder Jodie Evans in February 2017, according to an investigation by Fox News Digital. Jodie Evans is also being investigated for her role in the March trip. CodePink received $1.33 million from Singham after her marriage to Evans.

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In mid-March, organizations in the Singham network, from the Venceremos Brigade to the People’s Forum, the center of communist causes in New York City, were the leaders of the Nuestra American Convoy, which included approximately 650 delegates from 33 countries and 120 organizations. Among the organizations was the Democratic Socialists of America, a US non-profit organization that promoted Piker as a headline member.

The investigation by the Office of Foreign Assets Control is part of a broader sweep that includes as many as 40 American citizens joining foreign nationals including controversial Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, who is part of a global network of anti-U.S. Marxists, communists and socialists. Additional subpoenas are pending.

The administrative subpoenas mark a serious escalation by the Trump administration against a far-left nonprofit activist network that has spent years defending communist regimes from Cuba to China, presenting its work as humanitarian aid, anti-war organizing, and “solidarity” with people “oppressed” by the “imperialist” U.S. “colonial power.”

As reported, an investigation by Fox News Digital identified 145 U.S. nonprofits and activist groups with collective revenues of $1 billion that Justice and Treasury Department officials are investigating as part of a broader influence campaign by Cuba’s communist regime and other foreign actors. According to public statements, it is believed that the delegation members were staying in a hotel reserved for accommodation by the US State Department. “Cuban Restricted List” As businesses directly affiliated with Cuba’s communist government, they have been designated as state sponsors of terrorism.

U.S. law imposes broad restrictions on financial transactions involving Cuba, especially through Cuba. “Cuban Asset Control Regulations” It is managed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. These rules generally prohibit unlicensed travel-related transactions and the export of goods or services to Cuba, with limited exceptions for journalism, humanitarian projects, educational programs, and certain activities in support of the Cuban people.

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Marxist political influencer Hasan Piker stands outside his home in West Hollywood, California, and quietly gestures for his dog, Kaya, to lead him into his house. (MB/Splash for Fox News Digital)

One of the most influential political streamers on Twitch, Piker has built a large online following with a mix of Marxist politics, anti-American commentary, and incendiary statements that have repeatedly drawn public outrage.

On March 10, Piker posted a photo of himself on Instagram with the message “I’M GOING TO CUBA.”

In an Instagram post from the trip, Singham’s husband, Evans, smiled broadly as he stood next to Piker in Havana, who wore a red-and-white Palestinian scarf, or kefiyyeh, around his neck and looked solemnly at the camera.

On air this week, Piker said the Justice Department’s accusation against Cuban leader Raúl Castro was a “hoax” that had “no legal basis” and was designed to create an excuse to increase US pressure on the island. Piker argued that Trump was acting like a “playground bully.”

Fox News Digital recently observed Piker outside his Los Angeles home, escorting his dog Kaya out of the house for an early morning bathroom break. Tibetan Mastiff, Chow Chow and St. Kaya, a large-breed dog who is a St. Bernard mix, became the popular subject of an online campaign called “Free Kaya” over allegations that Piker trained Kaya with a shock collar that delivered painful stimuli as part of behavioral training. Piker stood silently next to Kaya for a moment and signaled with his finger for her to return home after going to the toilet. Kaya was later seen being walked and driven by a woman coming out of Piker’s house.

Benjamin made his mark as an activist gadfly, staging media demonstrations at Congressional hearings, defense industry trade conferences, and the homes of government officials, chanting profanities, chants, and slogans, branding himself an “anti-war,” but actually issuing a series of messages denouncing the United States and glorifying communist and authoritarian regimes, from the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Communist Party of China to the Communist Party of Cuba.

Fox News Digital recently observed Benjamin outside his colorful home in Washington, D.C., with his partner and fellow activist Tighe Barry, who accompanied him on a trip to Havana.

Piker was criticized for saying “America deserved 9/11,” which he later said was poorly worded, and for past comments about former Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, a Navy SEAL veteran who lost an eye in Afghanistan. More recently, critics, including Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-Y), have accused Piker of amplifying anti-Semitic rhetoric after October 7, while Piker has denied anti-Semitism and said his criticism was aimed at Israel, not Jews.

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The larger group under consideration includes Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. According to sources, investigators are looking into whether Omar financed his daughter’s trip to Cuba. Omar did not respond to an earlier request for comment about her daughter’s trip.

Piker, Benjamin, Singham, Evans and CodePink did not respond to requests for comment.

According to sources, the Office of Foreign Assets Control is also investigating CodePink’s DC Coordinator, Olivia DiNucci, a former Division I basketball star from Emerson College in Boston. Her down-to-earth, girl-next-door persona often manages to sneak into coveted spaces and then spoil it with raucous theatrics. He joined a convoy led by Brazilian activist Avila.

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Businessman Neville Roy Singham with his wife Jodie Evans. He argues that in Shanghai in 2025, the Chinese Communist Party supports a “new world order” that includes control over Cuba. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images and Global South Academic Forum)

Federal investigators are examining whether the caravan’s financing, logistics, coordination or delivery of goods crossed legal lines under U.S. enforcement law, the sources said.

Legal experts told Fox News Digital that the subpoenas could determine whether prosecutors pursue a criminal case under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, known as IEEPA, or whether the issue remains a civil enforcement matter handled by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers U.S. sanctions programs.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control may impose civil penalties under the “strict liability” standard; This means the government does not have to prove its intent. The Department of Justice, by contrast, must generally show that a defendant willfully violated the law in a criminal case, usually through evidence of concealment, evasion, or knowing participation in prohibited transactions.

In a lengthy livestream on Saturday, Piker talked to another influencer, Ashley St., about freewheeling on other topics in the news, including having a baby with billionaire Elon Musk, opposing Trump, defending Cuba’s communist leaders and denouncing the chaos in America, including a shooting outside the White House. Interviewed Clair. “This is very scary,” he said.

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CodePink’s Medea Benjamin (right) and Olivia DiNucci (center) protest the US war in Iran. (Fox News Digital)

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