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Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR) sent a formal letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on June 10, 2026, requesting the Justice Department investigate foreign influence efforts targeting American AI infrastructure. The letter named Shanghai-based tech mogul Neville Roy Singham and his network of U.S. nonprofits as the central targets, and cited Senator Bernie Sanders for hosting a panel featuring Chinese academics on existential AI risk.

“I write requesting the Department of Justice investigate foreign influence efforts targeting the buildout of American AI infrastructure,” Cotton wrote. “Alarming reports indicate that a network of foreign actors” is funding and coordinating opposition to U.S. AI development from within the country.

Cotton’s office released the letter publicly the same day, and it was reported by major outlets that week. Reporter Ken Klippenstein is examining it again in September as Congress moves toward a fall vote on AI governance frameworks, with the named organisations and individuals now facing months of political pressure.

Named Targets

The specificity of the letter distinguishes it from a general oversight inquiry. Cotton named Singham — a longtime funder of left-aligned media and advocacy through a network of U.S.-based nonprofits — as the central node in what he characterised as a coordinated foreign influence campaign. Sanders was not named as an investigation target but was cited in the letter for hosting a panel on existential AI risk that featured Chinese academic participants, presented as illustrative of the ecosystem Cotton wants investigated.

Labelling critics as targets of a FARA investigation carries consequences separate from any formal charges. The Foreign Agents Registration Act requires disclosure of relationships with foreign principals, and willful failure to comply carries criminal liability. A DOJ inquiry request from the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee does not open an investigation automatically, but the institutional weight generates reputational exposure for anyone named.

The Stakes

Cotton’s letter arrives in a political moment where “AI accelerationism versus AI safety” has become a proxy battle for broader economic nationalism debates. Framing domestic AI criticism as foreign-funded interference shuts down a category of argument by questioning the allegiances of those making it rather than engaging with the substance.

The DOJ has not confirmed whether it opened any inquiry in response. Blanche, who was acting AG when the letter was sent, was subsequently confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as permanent Attorney General in August 2026. The White House has not commented on whether any investigation was initiated.