China Allegedly Conducted Operational Source Polygraph Testing of U.S. Agent

[George W. Maschke]

Thomas Weir Pauken II

Josh Gerstein and Jacob Wendler report for Politico that an American journalist who lived and worked in China has been criminally charged with acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government. Excerpt:

An American journalist and political commentator who has lived in China for more than a decade is facing a criminal charge in the U.S. of acting as an agent for the Chinese government.

Thomas Pauken II allegedly prepared confidential reports that his Chinese handler told him were being conveyed to Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to an affidavit FBI Special Agent Timothy Healy submitted in federal court. Pauken also took a lie detector test at the request of his Chinese contact and provided a cell phone and laptop to another individual in the U.S. who was seeking a job in the Trump administration, Healy wrote.

FBI Special Agent Timothy Healy's affidavit states regarding the lie detector test:

15. In or around 2017 (or the time period of the "Trump-China trade wars" as described by PAUKEN), PAUKEN met a man who worked as XI Jinping's speech writer. This speechwriter and XI Jinping–-the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party--communicate regularly. The speechwriter subsequently introduced PAUKEN to a Chinese woman named "Cathy," who PAUKEN was told consulted for a think tank closely connected to the Chinese government. PAUKEN could not remember the name of the think tank but believed it to be a part of Jiao Tong University or Fudan University. But PAUKEN never met Cathy at any university.

16. Cathy primarily communicated with PAUKEN through WeChat, Signal, Telegram, or in person. Cathy told PAUKEN she cannot visit the United States and had specifically instructed PAUKEN not to talk about her while he was in the United States. PAUKEN did not know Cathy's Chinese name, but described her as a short, darker complexioned Chinese woman in her mid-30s.

17. Early on in their relationship, Cathy expressed interest in obtaining classified material from PAUKEN. At the time, PAUKEN said he hid not have access to any classified information, nor did he intend to obtain any classified information.

18. In 2022 or 2023, Cathy gave PAUKEN a lie detector test (believed to be a reference to a polygraph). PAUKEN did not immediately agree to the test, but after approximately two months Cathy convinced him because the reports were going to XI Jinping and they had to be careful. During the test, PAUKEN was asked approximately 10 questions that required yes or no answers. PAUKEN was asked if he was spying against the PRC and if he worked for the CIA.

The affidavit also describes another situation where Pauken was asked to submit to a polygraph examination but declined to do so:

25. PAUKEN also described his work for two people located in the PRC taht he called "Richard" and "William." He met Richard and William during the U.S.-China trade wars in 2017. They told PAUKEN that the reports that PAUKEN wrote for them went to Japan, but PAUKEN believed they workde for the PRC government. Like Cathy, Richard and William requested that PAUKEN undergo a polygraph examination, but PAUKEN refused. Richard and William asked PAUKEN to apply to the U.S. State Department and report on his progress.

The affidavit goes on to note that after the polygraph, Pauken knew that "Cathy" worked for the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS):

48. PAUKEN said that Cathy never told him explicitly that she worked for MSS, but PAUKEN said that, after the polygraph, it was "obvious" that Cathy was with MSS. Throughout the interview, PAUKEN said he knew Cathy worked for the MSS.

I found this interesting, as there is little documentation of how the Chinese government uses polygraphs. I would have thought that given the experience of Chinese intelligence officer Larry Wu-tai Chin, who penetrated the CIA and passed the polygraph throughout his employment with that agency despite being a spy for China, the Ministry of State Security would be more skeptical of polygraphy.

[George W. Maschke]

Thomas Pauken last week entered a plea agreement with the Department of Justice. He has also signed a Statement of Facts that recapitulates the allegations made in FBI Special Agent Timothy Healy's affidavit.

Josh Gerstein reported on Pauken's guilty plea for Politico:

American journalist pleads guilty to acting as unregistered agent for China
But there were no hints dropped at the court hearing about the identity of the Trump administration official linked to the probe.

An American who worked as an editor and commentator for state-run media in China, Thomas Pauken II, pleaded guilty Thursday to working as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government in the U.S.

During a roughly 40-minute hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, Pauken, 51, told U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema he was unaware of the legal requirement to register before acting for a foreign government, but he also said he understood that his lack of knowledge was not a defense to the charge.

The hearing shed no light on one of the mysteries of Pauken's case: the identity of a Trump administration official Pauken helped connect to a Chinese government contact Pauken knew as "Cathy." That U.S. official, described as "Person 1" in court filings, was still working in the government as of February, according to an affidavit an FBI agent filed in support of the criminal case.

The agent alleged that Pauken gave a cell phone and a laptop to the administration official while believing there was about an 80 percent chance that person would share classified information with "Cathy," although Pauken told the FBI he discouraged the U.S. official from doing so.

As POLITICO first reported, the affidavit suggests Pauken took part in an FBI-monitored sting operation involving the official at a Washington hotel in February, shortly before Pauken's arrest.

Justice Department and intelligence community spokespeople have declined to comment on whether "Person 1" still works for the administration or is facing any consequences.

As Pauken stood in a dark green jail jumpsuit and responded to Brinkema's questions, he referred to one of the documents on the courtroom lectern as a "cooperation agreement." The judge quickly cut in, saying: "We'll strike that word." She later sealed the hearing for about five minutes, ejecting reporters and other observers unconnected to the case.

There was no further public reference to cooperation, but at a bail hearing in March a prosecutor said Pauken signed a nondisclosure agreement with the FBI in 2025 and later violated it by telling the Chinese about the FBI's interest in him.

After Brinkema said Pauken was admitting that he'd "provided information or intelligence about the U.S. to the Chinese government," Pauken's lawyer Charles Burnham stressed that his client wasn't acknowledging that he provided any classified information to Chinese officials.

The judge said that was correct, but that Pauken did provide some information to China that wasn't public. "There's a gray zone in between," added Brinkema, a Clinton appointee.

Under the plea agreement, Pauken — who lived in China for the past decade and a half — must refrain from contact with any foreign intelligence agent or officials without FBI permission, Brinkema said.

Burnham handed reporters a statement after the hearing saying that Pauken "accepted responsibility" for working for China "without first completing certain required U.S. government forms." The attorney also said Pauken was trying to "promote peaceful relations and advance the cause of religious freedom in China."

Pauken's sentencing is set for Sept. 1. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison.