US political commentator sentenced to two years in prison for working as Chinese agent

Thomas Pauken II, a journalist and political commentator originally from the United States, was sentenced to prison on Tuesday after it was discovered he acted as “an agent of a foreign government” while in the country. Pauken has lived in China since 2010, working for several state media organizations in the communist country. He was arrested in February after arriving in Washington, D.C., from China, and was planning to meet with a person who was seeking a job in the Trump administration. An affidavit revealed that Pauken sought to bribe that person, offering them a SIM card and $10,000 to prepare reports to be sent to Chinese President Xi Jinping. In June, he pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government. He was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of supervised release, the Justice Department said. Pauken will also be prohibited from overseas travel due to “acting as an agent of a foreign government within the United States.” The FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division described Pauken’s plans to pass along vital and confidential information about the U.S. to Chinese government officials.“Thomas Pauken admitted to working at the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security to attempt to infiltrate U.S. political circles while also providing new recruitment targets for his Chinese handlers,” said Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “This case illustrates the lengths to which the Chinese Communist Party will go to undermine our democratic institutions, and it also demonstrates the FBI’s resolve to defend the homeland from threats to our national security. The sentencing provides a clear warning: anyone operating as an agent of a foreign government against the U.S. will be found by the FBI and held accountable.”Pauken wrote the 2019 book U.S. vs. China: From Trade War to Reciprocal Deal, which detailed ways to present a “neutral and balanced perspective” on trade relations between the U.S. and China. He is also the son of former Reagan presidential administration official and Texas Republican Party chair Tom Pauken. In his writings, the younger Pauken used the pseudonym Tom McGregor at the request of his father to avoid linking the elder Pauken to his son’s activities with China, according to Politico.Court documents revealed the extent of Pauken’s work in aiding the Chinese government, the Justice Department reported. Between 2017 and 2026, he provided reports believed to have been distributed to Chinese government officials, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. “Pauken worked at the direction and control of people he knew worked for the PRC, including a person he met in 2017 identified as ‘Cathy,’” read a Justice Department press release. “Cathy provided Pauken with taskings, including meeting with potential intelligence assets, providing them with devices such as a laptop and cellphone to communicate with Cathy, providing taskings for the assets on what information was required, and providing Cathy with reports from the assets.”US CARRIES OUT NEW STRIKES AGAINST IRAN FOLLOWING ATTACKS ON US SERVICE MEMBERSHe also sold information to Chinese representatives from Wuhan who were seeking sensitive information about government affairs, including “technology and the U.S. Department of Justice.” Additionally, the Wuhan representatives wanted Pauken to “ find an expert to help them engage in cyber espionage.”“Pauken exploited his U.S. citizenship and corresponding ability to travel to the U.S. without restriction in order to support Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) operations, recruiting, and gathering of sensitive information from potential assets,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Pauken betrayed his country for money. The National Security Division is committed to holding accountable anyone who aids or abets Chinese espionage efforts.”