American Journalist Sentenced to Two Years for Acting as an Agent of the Chinese Government
September 3, 2026
An American journalist has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for acting as an agent of a foreign government inside the United States, the Justice Department announced. Thomas Weir Pauken II, 51, pleaded guilty in the case and will serve 36 months of supervised release after his prison term.
According to the Justice Department, Pauken worked at the direction of officials of the People's Republic of China without registering with the U.S. Attorney General, as federal law requires of anyone operating in the United States on behalf of a foreign government. Prosecutors described work performed for the PRC while Pauken presented himself publicly as an independent commentator.
The charge — acting as an unregistered foreign agent under 18 U.S.C. 951 — has become one of the government's most-used tools in foreign-influence cases. It does not require proof of espionage: the offense is doing a foreign state's bidding on U.S. soil without telling the U.S. government you are doing it.
