Trump administration subpoenas Hasan Piker in Cuba sanctions investigation

FIRST ON FOX: Federal officials have subpoenaed 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 by supporting Cuba’s communist regime, Fox News Digital has learned.

Piker and Benjamin are among those targeted by a federal investigation into whether activists who traveled to Cuba in March violated U.S. sanctions laws by financing, coordinating or delivering goods to Cuba, including potential contact with Cuban government officials or entities on the island. The administrative subpoenas were sent to both men by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The administrative subpoenas — called “Requests for Information,” or RFIs — seek financial, logistical and communications information regarding trips the two men widely bragged about taking to the island nation in March with delegations from the “Convoy Nuestra América,” or “Our Convoy America,” from a global network of communist sympathizers, activists and influencers who brought supplies to the country’s ruling Communist Party of Cuba, sources say close to the file.

The investigation is part of a broader effort by officials at the Treasury, State and Justice departments to combat malicious foreign influence operations inside the United States, particularly activities related to support for political violence, extremist movements or acts that the U.S. government classifies as terrorism. This review reflects growing concern among federal authorities and lawmakers about whether foreign actors and aligned organizations are attempting to shape U.S. political discourse, mobilize activists, sow discord, and normalize rhetoric that could encourage violence or harm U.S. national security interests.

According to a Fox News Digital investigation, Singham has pumped $278 million into nonprofit groups that pushed pro-China, pro-Cuban, anti-American narratives and street protests for nearly a decade, since his February 2017 marriage to CodePink co-founder Jodie Evans, who is also under investigation for her role in the March trip. CodePink received $1.33 million from Singham after her marriage to Evans.

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Hasan Piker, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, and Jodie Evans, co-founder of CodePink, meet in Havana, Cuba, as part of a “United Front” supporting the communist regime. (NO EDGE ACCESS/NNS/FNS/OUTKICK/CodePink)

By mid-March, Singham Network organizations – from the Venceremos Brigade to the People’s Forum, a hub of communist causes in New York – were leading the Nuestra American Convoy, which included approximately 650 delegates from 33 countries and 120 organizations. Among these organizations were the Democratic Socialists of America, an American non-profit organization that promotes Piker as a core member.

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

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, while presenting its work as humanitarian aid, anti-war organizing, and “solidarity” with people “oppressed” by America’s imperialist “colonial power.”

As reported, a Fox News Digital investigation identified 145 U.S. activist and nonprofit groups with $1 billion in collective revenue that Justice Department and Treasury officials are investigating as part of a broader influence campaign by Cuba’s communist regime and other foreign actors. According to public statements, it appears that members of the delegation stayed at a hotel that the U.S. State Department has placed on a “Cuba Restricted List” because businesses directly linked to Cuba’s communist government have been designated as a state sponsor of terrorism.

U.S. law imposes broad restrictions on financial transactions involving Cuba, primarily through the “Cuban Assets Control Regulations,” administered 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 intended to support the Cuban people.

WHO IS HASAN PIKER? MEET THE FAR-LEFT STREAMER WHO’S SPOTLIGHTING CONTROVERSY ONLINE AND DIVIDING DEMOCRATS

Marxist political influencer Hasan Piker stands outside his home in West Hollywood, California, silently pointing to his dog Kaya to direct her towards his house. (MB/Splash for Fox News Digital)

Piker, one of the most influential political streamers on Twitch, has built a huge online following with a mix of Marxist politics, anti-American comments and inflammatory statements that have repeatedly sparked public backlash.

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 wife, Evans, smiled broadly in Havana, wearing a red and white Palestinian scarf, or kefiyyeh, around her neck while standing next to Piker, who looked seriously at the camera.

During a live broadcast this week, Piker said the Justice Department’s indictment of Cuban leader Raúl Castro was a “sham” with no “legal basis” intended to create a pretext to step up U.S. pressure on the island. Piker argued that Trump behaves like a “playground bully.”

Fox News Digital recently observed Piker outside his Los Angeles home escorting his dog, Kaya, out of the house for a bathroom break early one morning. Kaya, a large breed dog who is a mix of Tibetan Mastiff, Chow Chow and St. Bernard, has been the beloved subject of an online campaign, dubbed “Free Kaya,” following allegations that Piker trained Kaya with a shock collar that transmits painful stimuli as part of behavioral training. At one point, Piker silently stood over Kaya and beckoned her to go back to the house after she relieved herself. Kaya was later observed being walked and driven by a woman leaving Piker’s home.

Benjamin has made his mark as an activist gadfly who stages media spectacles at congressional hearings, defense industry trade conferences, and in the homes of government officials, shouting invectives, chants, and slogans, presenting himself as “anti-war,” but in reality broadcasting a series of messages denouncing the United States and elevating communist and authoritarian regimes from the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Communist Party of China and the Communist Party of Cuba.

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

Piker was criticized for saying “America deserved 9/11,” a remark he later said was poorly worded, and for his 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-N.Y., have accused Piker of amplifying anti-Semitic rhetoric after Oct. 7, while Piker has denied anti-Semitism and said his criticism was aimed at Israel, not Jews.

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The largest group under surveillance includes Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., sources said, with investigators looking into whether Omar might have financed her daughter’s trip to Cuba. Omar did not respond to a previous request for comment about his 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 at Emerson College in Boston. Her unassuming girl-next-door persona often allows her entry into coveted spaces which she then disrupts with boisterous theatricality. She joined a convoy led by Brazilian activist Avila.

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Tycoon Neville Roy Singham with his wife Jodie Evans. In 2025, he declared in Shanghai that he supported the Chinese Communist Party’s “new world order”, which included control of 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 boundaries under U.S. sanctions, 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 case 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 can impose civil penalties under the “strict liability” standard, meaning the government does not have to prove intent. The Justice Department, on the other hand, generally must show that a defendant willfully violated the law in a criminal case, often as proof of concealment, evasion, or knowing participation in prohibited transactions.

In a lengthy livestream Saturday, Piker interviewed fellow influencer Ashley St. Clair about having a baby with billionaire Elon Musk, denounced Trump, defended Cuba’s communist leaders and freely associated with other hot topics, including a shooting outside the White House, denouncing chaos in America. “It’s f@*& terrifying,” he said.

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

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