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🇺🇸🇨🇳 US journalist pleads guilty to acting as an illegal agent for China   An American journalist who has lived in China since 2010 and worked for several state media organisations there pleaded guilty in a US court Thursday (June 4) to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government, the Justice Department said.   READ: https://asia1.news/4e3QUx4   Follow @AsiaOnecom for all the latest updates.   Thomas Pauken II, writing under the pen name Tom McGregor, pleaded guilty on June 4, 2026, in US federal court to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government, announced the US Department of Justice. He faces up to 10 years in prison, with sentencing set for September 1, 2026.   Who is he?   - American citizen, lived in China since 2010, worked for multiple Chinese state media outlets including Xinhua News Agency. - Son of Thomas Pauken, former Texas Republican Party chairman and 2014 gubernatorial candidate; used pen name to separate his career from his father’s. - Worked secretly for Chinese intelligence (Ministry of State Security) from at least 2019 to February 2026, without registering under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) — the core legal violation.   What he admitted & is accused of   - Handled by a handler he called "Cathy", whom he believed worked for Chinese security services; received over US$100,000 plus paid US travel expenses for reports and work, which he was told were reviewed by President Xi Jinping. - Acted as middleman: tried to recruit people in US government/politics to provide information. In Feb 2026, met a candidate for a Trump administration role, gave a SIM card, phone/laptop, and offered US$10,000 for weekly reports to shape policy and be sent to Beijing. He told investigators he was "80% sure" that person would share classified data if hired. - Also sold intelligence to a Wuhan-based group: they sought details on US tech, Justice Department, and even asked him to find experts for cyber espionage. - His lawyer stated he was not charged with espionage or mishandling classified data, only failing to register as a foreign agent; claimed he believed his work would improve relations and advance religious freedom in China.   Context   This is the latest in a series of US cases targeting unregistered agents for China:   - May 2026: Ex-mayor of Arcadia, California, Eileen Wang, pleaded guilty to same charge . - Former NY governor aide Linda Sun pleaded not guilty to similar charges in 2025; trial ended in mistrial .   Pauken was arrested in Washington in February 2026 after FBI monitored his meetings.

The experts on *The Behavior Panel* isolate several distinct indicators of deception and psychopathy by looking at how high-profile subjects manipulate both body language and speech structure.   ### 1. Deceptive Speech Strategies    * **"Word Lasagna" and Chaffing:** When cornered with specific, high-stakes questions, deceptive individuals often try to overwhelm the listener with a massive wall of corporate or technical jargon to hide the lie. They also use a military-like tactic called "chaff and redirect," intentionally grabbing a single word the interviewer used and running away with it to steer focus entirely off-target.    * **Mechanical Speech Patterns:** Highly controlled or scripted responses often lack natural word contractions. Subjects will use full-length, mechanical phrasing (e.g., saying *"Would I not have done..."* instead of *"Wouldn't I have done..."*). The panel likens this elongated, precise cadence to an inhumane, robotic script.    * **The "Stancer" Tactic:** Deceptive subjects will frequently try to park themselves on "holy ground" when their back is against the wall. By introducing aggressive references to faith, God, or high moral righteousness, they attempt to force the narrative that they are completely repentant and therefore immune to earthly punishment.   ### 2. Micro-Expressions and Behavior Shifts    * **Childlike Regression:** To deflect harsh accusations, subjects often execute a calculated physical regression. They drop their shoulders, tilt their chin down, and lift their eyebrows to look up at the interviewer. This subordinate posture forces the audience or interviewer into a paternal frame, making them subconsciously hesitant to attack an seemingly "innocent child."    * **Positive Image Management (PIM):** A hallmark psychological trait where a person completely detaches from the gravity of a horrific crime, but becomes hyper-fixated on micro-managing small details to prove they are still fundamentally a "good person" at heart.    * **Duper's Delight:** The panel flags an incredibly fast micro-expression where a subject’s cheek tightly elevates and the lower eyelid lifts right as they finish a deceptive statement. It is an involuntary, subconscious flash of pleasure experienced when a person thinks they have successfully fooled their audience.   ### 3. Neurological and Physical Markers    * **The Psychopathic Stare:** While a typical baseline person breaks eye contact to process stress or respect social boundaries, a psychopath will lock an unblinking, dead-eyed stare on an interviewer. This happens because their amygdala—the brain's emotional and empathy processing center—is often under-active or structurally damaged, meaning intense staring causes them zero psychological discomfort.    * **The Nucleus Accumbens Loop:** Chase Hughes breaks down why people rely on these extreme behaviors under stress. The brain handles habit formation through a small region called the **nucleus accumbens**. If an extreme behavior (like a specific lie or submissive look) successfully got a child out of trouble or rewarded them at age eight, this region floods the **ventral tegmental pathway** with dopamine. The brain hardwires that response, forcing a 55-year-old adult in a modern interrogation room to default to the exact same childhood survival habits.    * **Flat Pupils:** The panel references scientific data indicating that true psychopathic individuals exhibit rigid pupil baselines; their pupils fail to dilate or react naturally when exposed to heavy negative emotional triggers or horrif ic concepts.