Credit: Territory of American Canada
The Department of Justice announced Thursday that an American citizen who spent years living and working in Communist China has pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of the Chinese government inside the United States, exposing yet another alarming example of Beijing’s efforts to infiltrate America’s political institutions.
Thomas Weir Pauken II, 50, who lived and worked in China for over a decade while writing for Beijing’s state-run propaganda outlets under the pseudonym “Tom McGregor,” admitted in federal court that he acted as an unregistered agent for the People’s Republic of China.
According to the DOJ and court documents, Pauken worked at the direction and control of Chinese intelligence handlers tied to the Ministry of State Security (MSS) from at least 2019 until February 2026. His primary handler, a woman he knew as “Cathy,” along with others identified as “Richard” and “William,” tasked him with meeting potential intelligence assets inside the United States, supplying them with secure communication devices like laptops and cell phones, assigning them information requirements, and funneling reports back to Beijing.
Pauken received at least $100,000 for his services, plus travel expenses for multiple trips from China to the U.S. between 2019 and 2025 to cultivate sources and gather intelligence on American targets.
“By his own admission, not only did Thomas Pauken attempt to infiltrate U.S. political circles at the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security, but he gathered intelligence on his American targets and reported it back to his Chinese intelligence handlers,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky 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 degrade our political freedoms, but it also demonstrates the FBI’s resolve to defend the homeland from threats to our national security. Let this plea serve as a clear warning: If you attempt to help a foreign adversary as an unregistered agent in the U.S., the FBI will find you and bring you to justice.”
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg added: “Pauken admitted to being part of a conspiracy to obtain sensitive information from the U.S. government for the PRC. His actions are a betrayal of this Nation and pose an unacceptable risk to our national security.”
The FBI’s Philadelphia and Washington Field Offices investigated the case.
What makes this case even more explosive: Pauken, the son of longtime Texas Republican and former state party chairman Thomas Pauken Sr., spent years embedded in Communist China’s propaganda apparatus. He worked as a commentator and editor for outlets including China Radio International, CCTV, CGTN, and most recently as an editor at Xinhua. He even authored a 2019 book positioning himself as a “neutral” voice on U.S.-China relations while living under Beijing’s thumb.
Court records and FBI affidavits reveal Pauken helped connect a consultant (“Person 1”) — who was seeking a position in the incoming second Trump administration — with his Chinese handler “Cathy.” He supplied the individual with a cell phone and laptop for secure communications with the MSS-linked contact. Pauken reportedly told his handlers he was “80 percent sure” the consultant would pass along confidential information if hired — while allegedly warning the consultant not to share classified material.
Pauken also produced reports he believed were being delivered all the way to Chinese President Xi Jinping. He additionally sold information on U.S. technology and the Department of Justice to a group in Wuhan that wanted help finding experts for cyber espionage operations.
The Department of Justice announced the plea in the Eastern District of Virginia. Pauken faces up to 10 years in prison at his scheduled sentencing on September 1.
The post BUSTED: American National Pleads Guilty to Working for Communist China After Six-Year Effort to Infiltrate U.S. Political Circles appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.