American journalist who worked for Chinese intelligence sentenced to two years in prison

American journalist Thomas Weir Pauken II has been sentenced to two years in prison for work on behalf of the Chinese government in the United States. The 51-year-old pleaded guilty and will not appeal, his lawyer Charles Burnham said.

The sentence also includes 36 months of supervision after his release and a ban on international travel during that period. U.S. authorities acknowledged that Pauken did not provide the Chinese with classified information.

John A. Eisenberg, the U.S. deputy attorney general for national security, said Pauken “betrayed his country for money” by supporting operations linked to China’s Ministry of State Security through recruitment and the collection of confidential information.

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Pauken betrayed his country for money.

Pauken moved to China in 2010 and worked as a journalist for several Chinese media organizations, including state broadcaster CCTV. He most recently served as an editor at the state-run Xinhua news agency.

Court documents say that from 2019 he worked under people he knew were employed by the Chinese government. One of them, identified by the pseudonym “Cathy,” asked him to recruit people who could provide confidential information. Pauken was arrested after returning to the United States in January of the previous year. He told investigators that Cathy usually paid for his trips to the United States and often transferred his compensation to his wife’s bank account.

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Cathy usually paid for his trips to the United States and often transferred my compensation to my wife’s bank account.