The House Oversight Committee announced Friday that it would investigate a nonprofit linked to an anti-Trump activist for possible violations of tax laws.

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., announced that his committee would be investigating former Ambassador Norm Eisen’s nonprofit, State Democracy Defenders Fund (SDDF), for possibly using donor funds for private financial interests.

Comer said that “The Fund’s most recently available IRS Form 990EZ describes the organization’s primary tax-exempt purpose in three parts: 1) going against ‘democracy deniers’ who break the law; 2) defending free and fair elections; and 3) shaping long-term strategy to ‘defeat autocracy.’ 

In practice, the Fund’s communications appear to heavily focus on opposing and building political opposition to a wide-variety of initiatives by the Trump Administration,” Comer said in a letter to Eisen. “The Committee’s request for information, however, specifically focuses on activities undertaken by the Fund to advance private financial interests that appear only loosely related to the Fund’s official stated purpose.”

SDDF appeared to advance the political interests of various unions

The Committee has requested documents that “appear to advance or target” private financial interests, including Apple, the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, various unions, and the law firm Platkin LLP, a boutique law firm started by former New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, who served under Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy.

Referring to the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, Comer noted that a letter opposing the proposed merger quoted Eisen as saying, “The future of free media and a strong entertainment industry in America is at stake here,” and warned that the merger would “erode the very bedrock of our democracy.” Yet, as Comer alleged, the letter only mentioned democracy once, when referring to the view that “Competition is essential for a healthy economy and a healthy democracy.”

Comer also suggested the group’s targeting of Apple was a “seemingly arbitrary attack” on the company over a gift to President Donald Trump. In other instances, SDDF appeared to advance the interests of various unions, including the Communications Workers of America, United Automobile, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America.

Comer: "Working on a pay-to-play basis"

“Through these actions, the Committee is concerned the charitable non-profit organization you lead may—possibly without the IRS’ awareness—be working on a pay-to-play basis to unethically and illegally ingratiate itself to donors and/or potential donors by taking more than incidental actions to advance their private financial interests. Indeed, 501(c)(3) entities are deemed to not be organized for a charitable purpose if they devote a substantial part of their activities to lobbying efforts and advancing private financial or other business interests are not among the legitimate purposes of a charitable organization organized under section 501(c)(3) if [sic] the Internal Revenue Code,” Comer wrote to Eisen.

The latest announcement is part of a larger investigation by the House Oversight Committee, which began on February 14, 2024, seeking information on whether the IRS had not enforced tax laws for certain activist groups engaged in political lobbying.

The investigation into the Eisen nonprofit follows a Just the News article about another nonprofit started by the former ambassador: The States United Democracy Center (SUDC). Eisen left SUDC at the end of 2024, but while he was there, the group targeted conservatives who questioned the validity and irregularities of the 2020 election. The organization was able to do so with the aid of Democrat attorneys general across the country, who essentially deputized the organization to help prosecute Trump supporters.