Trump pardons ex-NYPD officer who was convicted of helping China stalk an expat
November 7, 2025
President Donald Trump has granted a pardon to a former New York police sergeant who was convicted of helping China try to scare an ex-official into going back to his homeland. Michael McMahon got clemency in a prominent case in U.S. authorities’ efforts to combat what they claim are Beijing’s far-flung efforts to repress critics. McMahon was sentenced this spring to 18 months in prison. He said he was “unwittingly used” by Chinese operatives who hired him. He said he thought it was a straightforward private-investigator gig for a Chinese construction company, not the nation’s government.