US journalist pleads guilty to working as agent for China

An American journalist has admitted to working as an agent for China, illegally gathering US state security information for the rival power.

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The journalist, identified as Thomas Weir Pauken II, pleaded guilty on Thursday before a US court to conspiring to obtain sensitive information from the US government for China, according to the BBC.

The paper reports that the court document showed that Mr Pauken had been living and working in China since 2010. He has previously worked for several Chinese media organisations there, including CCTV and Xinhua News.

But from “at least 2019 until February this year, Mr Pauken worked at the direction and control of people he knew worked for the PRC,” according to the documents.

The journalist primarily acted as an intermediary between contacts in the US and in China. He was reported to have facilitated communications and relayed information gathered from his targets. The court documents, as noted by the BBC, showed that he was paid over $100,000 for his work.

Mr Pauken was reported to have worked with a few people. One of them was identified as Cathy, who provided him with “taskings, including meeting with potential intelligence assets.”

These tasks would have him travel several times in 2019 and 2025 to meet people in the US who gave him information to pass on to the PRC.

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He also worked with two other people in China, identified as “William” and “Richard,” who claimed the reports he filed for them were being sent to Japan.

According to the BBC, the US journalist also directly shared information about the US Department of Justice to a group from Wuhan, the commercial city of Hubei province in China. He was also reported to have assisted them in finding an expert to help them engage in cyber espionage.

The 50-year-old journalist now faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, with his sentencing scheduled for 1 September.

The guilty plea led the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to issue a strong warning, according to Fox News.

FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky said the case highlights the extent to which the Chinese Communist Party is prepared to pursue intelligence-gathering and influence operations within the US.

“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.

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“This case illustrates the lengths to which the Chinese Communist Party will go to undermine our democratic institutions and degrade our political freedoms. Still, 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,” Mr Rozhavsky said.