House Oversight Committee subpoenas liberal dark money group behind secretive influence network

The House Oversight Committee on Thursday subpoenaed a liberal dark money group for records about the secretive Chorus program, which organizes influencers to promote Democratic messaging online in possible violation of campaign finance disclosure laws. 

The subpoena was delivered to the president of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a nonprofit that serves as a hub of progressive political spending and that was administered by the now-dissolved Arabella Advisors. Sixteen Thirty originally oversaw the Chorus influencers program until late last year, when it was spun off shortly after the Oversight committee’s first letter to the fund.  

The committee launched an investigation into the Chorus program last November, raising concerns that through it the fund may have sought to “circumvent campaign finance disclosure laws” and undermine media ethics standards. 

“To date, the Committee’s investigation has highlighted how influencers paid to participate in the Chorus program (contractors) have generated content specifically advocating for voters to support candidates, ballot initiatives, and political parties in U.S. elections despite restrictions Chorus purportedly attempted to impose on their ability to do so,” committee Chairman James Comer wrote in a subpoena cover letter sent to Amy Kurtz, the president of the Sixteen Thirty Fund. 

“These election advocacy efforts, legal or otherwise, raise questions for Congress about coordination among parties that may necessitate revision to election and non-profit laws,” the Kentucky Republican also said.

You can read the letter below: 

The fund has been slow to respond to the committee’s earlier request for documents and may have attempted to mislead investigators about the program, Comer claimed. 

“Sixteen Thirty Fund’s voluntary compliance with requests to date has been unacceptable,” he wrote. “Sixteen Thirty Fund has produced just 135 pages since November 18, 2025, which is a pace of less than one page per day since the Committee’s request.” 

The committee believes that the legal separation of the Chorus program from Sixteen Thirty Fund late last year may have been part of an effort to “obfuscate Chorus’s legal structure” to shield documents from the committee. 

On Dec. 16, 2025, the Sixteen Thirty Fund told Congress that Chorus is “not an independent legal entity.” 

However, one day after the reply was sent, “Chorus” registered with the D.C. government as a trade name under Creator Collective, an independent group founded by Graham Wilson, who also represented Chorus when it was affiliated with Sixteen Thirty Fund.

Last year, WIRED magazine first reported on the existence of the secretive Chorus program. The group allegedly pays online influencers up to $8,000 a month to disseminate talking points favorable to the Democratic Party. 

The influencers are expected to be tight-lipped about their arrangements with Chorus. According to several contracts reviewed by WIRED, the creators are prohibited from publicly acknowledging the program, disclosing the identities of any funders or admitting that they are being paid. 

The contracts also reportedly gave Chorus the authority to police the content that creators post, including the ability to demand creators take down any content produced at its events. 

Some of the most notable online liberal voices are reportedly affiliated with the program including Olivia Julianna, a Gen Z activist who spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention; Loren Piretra, a former Playboy executive turned Occupy Democrats YouTuber; and Barrett Adair, a content creator who runs a viral American Girl Doll–themed meme account, are among the creators.