An American journalist who has lived in China since 2010 and worked for several state media organizations pleaded guilty in a U.S. court on Thursday to serving as an illegal agent of the Chinese government, the Justice Department said.
Thomas Paulken II will be sentenced on September 1 in U.S. District Court and faces up to 10 years in prison, the department said. He wrote under the name Tom McGregor to distance himself from his father of the same name. My father was the former chairman of the Texas Republican Party in the 1990s and ran for governor more than a decade ago.
It’s the latest in a series of cases the federal government has brought against people suspected of working for the Chinese government without proper disclosure.
Wang AilinThe former mayor of Arcadia, California, agreed in May to plead guilty to serving as an illegal agent of the Chinese government. She was accused of taking orders from Chinese officials, including sharing articles favorable to Beijing.
Linda SunA former aide to the governor of New York State, he was accused of selling influence to the Chinese government. Sun has pleaded not guilty to charges that she failed to register as a foreign government agent, conspired with her husband to launder money and helped people commit visa fraud to enter the United States illegally. A trial in December ended in a mistrial after a federal jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
Balken’s defense attorney, Charles Burnham, said in a statement that by pleading guilty, Balken “accepted responsibility as an agent of the People’s Republic of China without first completing certain U.S. government-required forms.”
Burnham said Baoken hopes his work will “promote peaceful relations and advance the cause of religious freedom in China.”
Paulken was arrested in February after arriving in Washington from China. He met with a person seeking a job in the Trump administration, provided the person with a SIM card and $10,000 to write a report for Chinese President Xi Jinping to read, according to testimony.
He appeared to view himself as an intermediary between Chinese agents and “human resources” who could provide Beijing with classified information, the affidavit said. His attorney did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Since at least 2019, Balkan has been working with Chinese agents, including “Cathy,” who he believed worked for Chinese security agencies. The affidavit states that between 2019 and 2025, Pauken was paid $100,000 for providing reports to Cathy, in addition to receiving paid trips to the United States. Cathy told him that the reports would be read by Xi Jinping.
In January 2025, Bowken was intercepted by Customs and Border Protection agents when he returned to the United States. In interviews with CBP and FBI agents, Balken said he was meeting with someone seeking a job in the Trump administration and would provide the person with a Samsung cell phone and a laptop. He said he was “80 percent certain” the person would provide classified information to Beijing if hired by the new administration, according to the affidavit.
U.S. agents released Paulken and instructed him to proceed with his plan. Bowken’s contacts said in interviews that Bowken requested open source information, but also said his clients in China often asked for more secret information. The person indicated he had no intention of cooperating with Paulken, the affidavit states.
A year later, Paulken returned to the United States, pitched the man again and reconnected with him about a possible commercial oil deal, the affidavit said. They met at a Washington restaurant on February 23 and again two days later at a hotel, where the FBI monitored the meeting.
Balken gave the person a SIM card and offered a $10,000 reward for providing Cathy with weekly reports that would “influence policy and be read by Xi Jinping,” according to the affidavit.
A database check showed that Paulken failed to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act or notify the U.S. attorney general that he was an agent of China, the affidavit said.
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The Justice Department said Bowken also sold reports to a group of Chinese people from the central city of Wuhan who sought information about technology and the Justice Department and wanted Bowken to find an expert to help them conduct cyberespionage operations.
