A Southern California mayor has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government, CNN reported. Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, has resigned from her city position, officials said Monday, May 11.
What charge is Eileen Wang facing?
Wang was charged in April with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government. She allegedly did the bidding of Chinese officials, like sharing articles favorable to Beijing, without previous notification to the US government as the law requires.
Wang, 58, was elected in November 2022 to a five-person city council.
Read More | Who is Eileen Wang? 5 things to know on ex-Arcadia Mayor as she admits to being a ‘China agent’
FBI Director Kash Patel has shared an update on X, saying the FBI and its partners will keep working to “root out this kind of influence in American institutions”.
“Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang in California has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China in the United States,” wrote Patel. “Mayor Wang admitted to acting as a foreign agent from at least 2020 through 2022 – promoting PRC propaganda in the U.S. and acting at PRC’s direction to promote their interests. She has agreed to resign from office and plead guilty.”
He added, “@FBI and our federal partners continue to move aggressively to root out this kind of influence in American institutions all over the country.”
In a news release, city manager Dominic Lazzaretto said that no city finances or staff were involved. “We want to be clear: this investigation concerns individual conduct, and the charges are for conduct that ceased after Ms. Wang was sworn into office in December 2022,” he said, per CNN.
Read More | California city mayor pleads guilty of being Chinese agent; quits post
According to federal officials, Wang has agreed to plead guilty to the felony. It comes with a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
Wang’s attorneys, Jason Liang and Brian Sun, said in a statement that their client recognizes the seriousness of the charge and accepts responsibility for “past personal mistakes.”
“She apologizes and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life,” the attorneys said. “Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver.”
