Journalist Tom Pauken is accused of preparing secret reports for his Chinese handler, reports that were later passed on to the head of the Chinese regime, Xi Jinping.

He is also accused of helping to connect his handler with another person who sought to obtain a certain job in the Trump administration.

Pauken, the son of a senior Republican from Texas, Tom Pauken Sr., lived in China for more than a decade and worked for a Chinese state media outlet under a pseudonym – "Tom McGregor" – at his father's request, so that his activities would not be linked to his real name.