The Justice Department is prosecuting Thomas Pauken II for being an “illegal agent” (spy?) for the People’s Republic of China.
During his years in China he was sent back to the U.S. repeatedly, where the journalist “gathered intelligence on his American targets” to be passed along to Chinese handlers, according to the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division (BBC, June 6, 2026).
Pauken worked with two other people in China, identified as “William” and “Richard”, who told the US journalist that reports he filed for them were being sent to Japan.
Pauken also sold a group of people from Wuhan information about the US DOJ and information about technology. They also asked Pauken to support them in finding an expert to help them engage in cyber espionage.
After the hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, Pauken’s attorney Charles Burnham gave a statement to Politico that said his client accepted responsibility and was trying to “promote peaceful relations and advance the cause of religious freedom in China”.
Pauken is scheduled to be sentenced on 1 September and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Ten years being the going rate for being a traitor to your country. Pauken should get at least another ten years for letting his lawyer suggest that the espionage is not really so bad in light of Pauken’s desire to “promote peaceful relations and advance the cause of religious freedom in China.”
The lawyer also says: “The government’s complaint charges that Mr Pauken did professional work for a foreign government without first completing certain required paperwork. We look forward to responding to the government’s allegations in court.” Is it really okay to spy for the Chinese government as long as you register first?
Pauken may have been one of the guys who churns out perfectly idiomatic English-language propaganda for some of the CCP propaganda rags. The BBC says that having lived in China since 2010, he “worked for several media organisations there, including CCTV and Xinhua News” but does not go into detail about the nature of that work.
