A federal jury has sentenced Michael McMahon, a former New York City Police sergeant, to one and a half years in prison after he was convicted of acting as an agent for the Chinese government. McMahon agreed to surveil a citizen of New Jersey at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party, violating a number of espionage and interstate stalking laws.
For context, just a few weeks ago, another blue state official was tied to Chinese intelligence. Gary Yu, one of woke Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s top fundraisers, who gathered $300,000 for Wu’s mayoral campaign, was also listed under another name as a member of the United Front Work Department, a front for CPP intelligence.
In any case, Ian Jager, a bodybuilder and political commentator, broke the story on April 18, 2024. In his X post, he said, “BREAKING: Former NYPD Sgt. Michael McMahon has been sentenced to 1 1/2 years in prison for working as a spy for the Chinese Communist Party.”
In the comments under his post, conservatives expressed their outrage with the corrupt cop. One such comment asked, “That’s it? Isn’t that treason?” Another said, “Hope they cleared his banking account too that he got the money that he got from them one and a half years that’s it really oh my.”
Many of the comments objected to the overly lenient sentence. One account questioned, “1 1/2 years? For treason? America is fast becoming a criminal leniency country … Is that why we have so many criminals around us all? Will it ever end?” Building on that point, another said, “WTF? Only 1.5 years? Almost nobody in government gets held accountable for their crimes. And when they do, it’s a slap on the wrist. I bet he will get to serve his time with an ankle bracelet at home and get early parole too.”
Rounding out the comments, more users were disappointed by the relatively short sentence. A reply said, “Didn’t that kind of thing used to be called treason? What’s the punishment supposed to be for treason? Is 1.5 years the new punishment for treason?” Agreeing, another read, “Seems like a very light sentence for selling out your country and fellow Americans.”
Providing additional context, John Durham, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, said in a statement, “McMahon, a former law enforcement officer who swore an oath to protect the public, went rogue and dishonorably engaged in a scheme at the direction of the People’s Republic of China.”
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This is far from the first blue-state official to be tied to the CCP. As we reported, the House Select Committee on the CCP described United Front, of which Gary Yu is a member, as a highly complicated Chinese intelligence operation. They said, “United front work is a unique blend of engagement, influence activities, and intelligence operations that the Chinese Communist Party uses to shape its political environment, including to influence other countries’ policy toward the [People’s Republic of China]and to gain access to advanced foreign technology.”
Adding additional context, the committee revealed the details of this scheme. Its statement said, “It is carried out by an extensive and well-documented network of organizations operating in parallel to the People’s Republic of China’s foreign ministry and intelligence services that seeks to influence universities, think tanks, civic groups, other prominent individuals and institutions, and public opinion broadly.”
Watch AG Pam Bondi read out the charges against NY Attorney General Letitia James: