An American journalist and the son of a Texas Republican politician has been charged with acting as a Chinese agent, court records show.
Thomas Pauken II, who has lived in China for more than a decade and worked for multiple Chinese state media outlets, was allegedly paid at least $100,000 for working with an individual within the Ministry of State Security, which is tasked with espionage operations, according to an unsealed affidavit.
The handler, a woman he called Cathy, told her that the materials he provided were read by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the filings state.
Pauken was arrested in March and is facing a plea hearing on May 29 in Alexandria, Virginia.
Pauken said he has prepared reports and recorded interviews with Cathy through Telegram or WeChat, a Chinese social media app, before deleting the messages at Cathy’s request, the affidavit said.
Pauken is the son of Tom Pauken, the director of a federal agency that managed domestic volunteer programs during the Reagan administration, who later chaired the Texas Republican Party and the Texas Workforce Commission, a state agency.
The younger Pauken’s Chinese associates were “obsessed” with attaining information on his father, who had allegedly asked his son to use an alias to avoid being tied to his activities in China, according to the filing. The younger Pauken uses the pseudonym Tom McGregor.
The affidavit described the younger Pauken taking a lie detector test at Cathy’s urging and connecting Cathy with a person now working for a U.S. government agency, who received multiple payments from the Chinese intelligence agent for information he gleaned from the person regarding the Trump administration’s thinking.
Pauken told the FBI he was 80 percent sure the person would hand over classified information to China despite his advising against it, the affidavit said.
Under Cathy’s instructions, Pauken gave the individual a laptop, a Samsung phone for communicating with Cathy, and a flash drive, according to the FBI agent who drafted the affidavit.
Pauken made multiple trips between 2019 and 2025, with Cathy wiring around $7,000 to $8,000 to Pauken’s wife to compensate for each trip, the FBI agent wrote.
In addition to Cathy, Pauken said he also worked with a group of Chinese individuals based in the Chinese city of Wuhan, who sought information related to technology and the U.S. Department of Justice, according to the filings. The men wanted Pauken to find an expert to assist with their cyber espionage efforts, the FBI agent wrote.
The individual who worked for the U.S. government was not named in the court documents. He told the FBI that he stopped working with Pauken after receiving the laptop and phone, but reconnected with Pauken around January through a mutual contact, according to the affidavit.
He then began working as a potential intermediary on an oil deal involving one or more Chinese or foreign firms, according to the court filing. In a February meeting, Pauken allegedly met the person at a hotel, gave him a SIM card, and offered him a $10,000 bonus for agreeing to work with Cathy. Pauken said Cathy expected one report per week, which would be sent to Xi and influence policy, the FBI agent said.
Pauken’s lawyer, Charles Burnham, said they look forward to responding to the government’s allegations in court.
“It’s critical to understand that Mr. Pauken is not charged with spying or mishandling classified information,” he told The Epoch Times in a statement. “The government’s complaint charges that Mr. Pauken did professional work for a foreign government without first completing certain required paperwork.”
Pauken authored a 2019 book, “US Vs China: From Trade War To Reciprocal Deal,” which purports to offer a “neutral and balanced perspective” on the bilateral trade relationship.
Pauken’s father didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.