An American journalist has been sentenced to two years in prison for aiding a Chinese intelligence officer in a scheme to collect sensitive information from the United States following a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) operation.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: An American journalist has been sentenced to two years in prison for working as an unregistered agent for communist China. 📺 DETAIL: Thomas Pauken II, an American journalist, was convicted in June of working as an unregistered agent for communist China between 2019 and 2026. Pauken admitted to assisting a Chinese agent connected to the Ministry of State Security in recruiting people, providing them with equipment, and gathering sensitive information in the United States. Specifically, Pauken worked for Xinhua News, a Chinese state media outlet, and worked closely with a Chinese intelligence officer called “Cathy,” who paid him over $100,000 to facilitate operations. “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… Pauken betrayed his country for money,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg. Pauken was arrested in February 2026 during an FBI sting operation in Washington, D.C., where he attempted to recruit a U.S. federal government employee. The 50-year-old Pauken has lived in communist China since 2010. “Thomas Pauken knowingly assisted a foreign adversary in actively subverting the government of the United States for his own financial gain… It is unconscionable that an American citizen would not only undermine the interests of the United States, but also facilitate others in doing so,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Theophani Stamos. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “I learned a lot of secrets and I did tell the Chinese about these secrets… I thought I was helping, but now I realize I could’ve caused even more damage, including war,” – Thomas Pauken II during his sentencing hearing. 🎯 IMPACT: This represents the first major update on the Pauken scandal since he pleaded guilty to working for communist China back in June. “This case illustrates the lengths to which the Chinese Communist Party will go to undermine our democratic institutions and degrade our political freedoms, but it also demonstrates the FBI’s resolve to defend the homeland from threats to our national security,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division at the time. Pauken’s sentencing comes amid a broader problem of Chinese interference in the U.S. Back in July, President Donald J. Trump released classified documents exposing Chinese interference in U.S. elections, particularly the 2020 Presidential election. |
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