US Journalist Who Worked for Chinese State Media Admits Acting as Unregistered Agent for China

A U.S. journalist who spent more than a decade living in China and working for state-run media outlets pleaded guilty Thursday to acting as an illegal foreign agent, according to the Justice Department, in a case authorities say involved attempts to gather information from U.S. political circles and pass reports to senior officials in Beijing.

Thomas Weir Pauken II, who wrote under the name Tom McGregor, admitted in federal court to acting on behalf of the People's Republic of China inside the United States without registering as required under federal law. He faces up to 10 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 1.

According to court documents, Pauken worked with individuals he believed were connected to the country's intelligence services and received more than $100,000, along with travel expenses, for reports he was told would be read by President Xi Jinping.

Federal authorities said Pauken operated under the direction of overseas contacts from at least 2019 through 2025. Prosecutors alleged he also sought to connect one of those contacts with a person pursuing a role in the Trump administration. According to an FBI affidavit, Pauken later provided that individual with a SIM card and offered $10,000 in exchange for weekly reports that would "influence policy and be read by Xi Jinping."

The Justice Department further alleged that Pauken sold reports to individuals in Wuhan seeking information related to U.S. technology and the Justice Department and attempted to identify experts who could assist with cyberespionage activities.

His attorney, Charles Burnham, said in a statement cited by The Associated Press that Pauken "has accepted responsibility for working as an agent of the People's Republic of China without first completing certain required U.S. Government forms."

Burnham added that his client believed his work would "promote peaceful relations and advance the cause of religious freedom in China."

The case is the latest in a series of prosecutions tied to alleged foreign influence operations in the United States, including recent cases involving former California mayor Eileen Wang and former New York gubernatorial aide Linda Sun.

The guilty plea also comes amid broader tensions between Washington and Beijing over cyber operations and espionage. During a May summit in Beijing, President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged U.S. intelligence activity targeting the country, telling reporters: "we spy like hell on them, too."

"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 handlers," FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky said in a statement released by the Justice Department.