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US journalist jailed for 2 years for working as a Chinese agent

An American journalist who lived in Beijing, worked for Chinese state media and pleaded guilty to helping Beijing collect US intelligence was sentenced on Tuesday…

By Samantha Johnson / September 2, 2026
An American journalist who lived in Beijing, worked for Chinese state media and pleaded guilty to helping Beijing collect US intelligence was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in federal prison.

Thomas Weir Pauken II, 51, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and barred from overseas travel during that period, according to the US Justice Department. He also used the alias Tom McGregor. His father, Thomas Pauken, chaired the Texas Republican Party in the 1990s and later ran for governor.

Pauken has been in custody since his arrest in February, and he admitted in June to acting as an agent of China in the US without notifying the attorney general, as required under federal law.

In a social media post on Tuesday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said that from at least 2019 until February 2026 Pauken “operated at the direction and control of people he knew worked for the PRC’s Ministry of State Security (MSS)”.

The bureau added that he recruited potential intelligence assets, issued taskings, sent reports to MSS contacts, received at least US$100,000, and made several trips from China to the US to meet people who could provide information to him, and ultimately to Chinese intelligence.

The FBI said Pauken had “operated at the direction and control” of people he knew worked for China’s state security ministry. Photo: AFP
The FBI said Pauken had “operated at the direction and control” of people he knew worked for China’s state security ministry. Photo: AFP

Assistant attorney general for national security John A. Eisenberg in a statement said Pauken had “betrayed his country for money” and “exploited his US citizenship and corresponding ability to travel to the US without restriction”.

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