An American journalist was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday after confessing to helping the Chinese government collect "confidential information" within the United States.

According to an affidavit filed in May, Thomas Pauken II, who had previously lived in China for over a decade, prepared and delivered confidential reports to a contact in China. This contact reportedly told Pauken that his reports were being forwarded to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Pauken was arrested by the FBI at a Washington hotel in February on charges of encouraging a senior official in the Trump administration to contact a woman in China whom he believed to be a Chinese intelligence operative. In June, he pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China in the United States.

Prosecutors alleged that Pauken received $100,000 over seven years in exchange for writing reports on U.S.-China relations for the Chinese government and that he had attempted to arrange for his Chinese handler to gain access to experts within the United States.

According to Politico, prosecutor Eli Ross stated at the sentencing hearing, "He built these relationships in the U.S. as part of an agreement with Chinese intelligence," adding, "He did it for money. He made a lot of money."

During the hearing, Pauken admitted to the judge that his actions were "shocking" and "terrible," but claimed they stemmed from a desire to improve U.S.-China relations.

“I gained access to a lot of sensitive information, and I shared these secrets with the Chinese side,” Pauken said. “I thought I was helping, but now I realize it could have caused much greater harm, including the possibility of war.”

Judge Leonie Brinkema noted that while Pauken did not provide classified information to Chinese officials, it remained significant that his handler had requested such information and that Pauken had attempted to connect a government official with his handler. 

The sentencing follows a recommendation by prosecutors for 33 months in prison for Pauken, who has been in custody since his arrest, while the defense had requested a sentence of probation or confinement in a halfway house.

NNP USA = Representative Reporter Sung-Goo Hong / Exclusive Special Correspondent for NNP info@newsandpost.com