The son of a prominent Texas Republican politician has been swept up in an explosive federal case accusing him of helping funnel sensitive information to China.
Thomas Pauken II, an American author and political commentator who spent years living in China, allegedly acted as a go-between for contacts linked to Beijing dangling cash incentives to influence US policy from inside the federal government.
Pauken is now facing a felony charge alleging he operated on behalf of the Chinese government inside the United States without properly registering with the attorney general.
Federal investigators claim Pauken compiled confidential reports for a Chinese intelligence-linked handler who allegedly told him the material would ultimately be passed up the chain to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
According to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court, Pauken also delivered electronic devices to another individual seeking work in the Trump administration later offering that same person a lucrative arrangement tied to providing weekly policy-related reports.
The allegations have thrust Pauken, who wrote under the pen name Tom McGregor while working in China, into the center of an increasingly tense standoff between Washington and Beijing over espionage, foreign influence and national security.
Court documents obtained by Politico say Pauken was first confronted by US authorities after returning from China in January 2025.
But instead of immediately arresting him, investigators allegedly instructed him to continue behaving normally out of concern that abruptly cutting ties could place him in danger from China’s Ministry of State Security.
FBI Special Agent Timothy Healy wrote in the affidavit that Pauken was specifically warned not to alert Chinese officials about his contact with American law enforcement.
Hellbound and Down 