New York — US President Donald Trump pardoned a former New York Police Department sergeant on Friday convicted To help China An attempt to intimidate a former official into returning to his homelandIt is a high-profile case in US authorities’ efforts to combat what they claim are Beijing’s far-reaching efforts to suppress critics.
It was Michael McMahon He was sentenced this spring to 18 months in prison Because of what one federal judge called a “campaign.” Transnational repressionHe insisted he was innocent, saying he was “inadvertently used” when he took on what he thought was a direct private investigator. McMahon said he was told he worked for a Chinese construction company, not the national government.
A White House official, speaking on Friday on the condition of anonymity to discuss the pardon that had not been publicly announced, pointed to McMahon’s explanation that he had been misled. The official also noted that McMahon earned dozens of commendations before a 2001 injury ended his 14-year NYPD career.
McMahon’s lawyer, Lawrence Lustberg, said the pardon “corrects a terrible injustice.”
“I will always believe that it was the Chinese government that sacrificed Mike, a true hero cop, who our government should have celebrated and honored, rather than indicted,” Lustberg said via email.
The Brooklyn-based federal prosecutor’s office that prosecuted the case declined to comment.
McMahon was one of three men convicted in the first trial over decade-old US allegations about China “Operation Fox Hunting” initiative. His co-defendants, both Chinese nationals, W He was sentenced to prisonwhere they stay.
US authorities viewed Operation Fox Hunt, in at least some cases, as a tool of “transnational repression” – a term referring to sending government agents to harass, threaten and silence dissidents living abroad.
Beijing says it is only trying to return fugitives, including corrupt officials, and… He denies making threats To secure their return.
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Superville reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Philip Marcello contributed.