American journalist Thomas Pauken has been sentenced to two years in prison for acting as an “unregistered agent” for the People’s Republic of China, which allegedly paid him at least $100,000 to recruit spies for China (The Associated Press, September 3, 2026).
Thomas Weir Pauken II, 51, pleaded guilty earlier this year and is not planning to appeal, according to his defense lawyer, Charles Burnham. Pauken also was sentenced to 36 months of supervised release with no overseas travel, the department said in a news release on Tuesday. He was arrested in February….
“Pauken betrayed his country for money” for supporting “Chinese Ministry of State Security operations, recruiting, and gathering of sensitive information from potential assets,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg in the news release.
Pauken worked as a journalist [propagandist] for various Chinese news organizations after moving to China in 2010….
“Mr. Pauken has accepted responsibility and respects the court’s sentence,” his lawyer said, adding that “as the government agreed in court, Mr. Pauken did not provide any classified information to the Chinese.”
According to court documents, from at least 2019 until February 2026, Pauken worked at the direction of people he knew worked for China’s government, including a person he met in 2017 identified as “Cathy.” “Cathy” told him the reports were read by Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to a Feb. 27 federal court affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Timothy J. Healy.
Pauken received at least $100,000 for his work with “Cathy,” the department said.
Two years? Maybe two years would have been okay if he had been spying for Luxembourg or the Principality of Monaco.
Use of the term “unregistered agent” instead of “spy” makes it sound as if the crime that occurs when Americans spy for a hostile foreign power consists of failure to register the activity.
The lawyer stresses that his client provided no classified information to Chinese intelligence. What was the $100,000 for his work with “Cathy” for? The AP reports that “In addition to writing reports, Pauken was also asked by ‘Cathy’ to recruit people to provide classified information.” Let’s not split hairs.
Also see:
Daily Mail: “US author and son of Texas politician charged with helping to provide classified information to China” (May 25, 2026)
