U.S. Journalist Charged With Acting as Chinese Agent

Thomas Weir Pauken II, an American journalist and author, was arrested in early March on federal charges alleging he acted as an agent for the Chinese government for at least seven years. Pauken is scheduled to appear in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia for a pre-indictment plea hearing on Friday.

Court documents state he worked at the direction of individuals operating on behalf of the People's Republic of China and its Ministry of State Security.

The tasks included meeting potential human sources, supplying cellphones and laptops, and sharing reports. U.S. government information.

Pauken moved to China in 2010 and worked as a journalist in Hong Kong and for state-owned outlets before becoming an editor at Xinhua News in 2024. He used the pseudonym "Tom McGregor" at his father's request. The FBI investigation began in December 2025 after Customs and Border Protection agents at Washington Dulles International Airport found two cellphones, a laptop, and $3,000 cash in his luggage.

Pauken told agents he planned to return to China in three days. Court documents say Pauken received roughly $100,000 for reports later shared with Chinese President Xi Jinping and made several all-expenses-paid trips to the United States between 2019 and 2025.

After being confronted last year, agents instructed him to continue his activities while the FBI monitored him. He returned to the United States in February and met an individual at a Washington hotel under FBI surveillance, offering $100,000 cash and a SIM card for weekly reports.

Pauken is the author of the 2019 book "US vs China: From Trade War to Reciprocal Deal.