California Mayor Resigns After Spying Admission

The U.S. Department of Justice has revealed that a mayor from Southern California has agreed to plead guilty to spying for China over a period of two years.

Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, announced her resignation following an indictment by federal authorities for acting as an illegal foreign agent, as stated on the city’s official website.

FBI Director Kash Patel highlighted that “Mayor Wang has confessed to serving as a foreign agent from at least 2020 to 2022, advancing Chinese propaganda in the U.S. and acting under China’s directives to promote its interests.” He confirmed that she has agreed to resign and plead guilty.

Wang entered her guilty plea in a Los Angeles federal court on Monday and is now facing a 10-year prison sentence.

Together with her fiancé, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, Wang operated a website called US News Center, which purported to serve the local Chinese American community.

Sun, who also managed Wang’s campaign, admitted that both acted on “instructions from Chinese government officials to share pro-China content.” Reports indicated that Sun sought approval from these officials for additional content.

In a specific instance from November 2021, Wang aimed to promote an article where the ambassadors from Russia and China urged Americans to respect China’s “democratic rights,” according to the Justice Department.

Arcadia Mayor Dominic Lazaretto released a statement asserting that there was no espionage conducted during Wang’s time in office. “This news is deeply concerning; we want to address the community with what we know and our stance,” Lazaretto wrote.

He expressed that it’s troubling to realize a foreign government may attempt to influence local elected officials but emphasized that the investigation focuses on individual actions, noting that Wang ceased her activities after taking office in December 2022.

Despite the accusations against Wang, Lazaretto asserted that there was no reason to invalidate the city’s actions. “An internal investigation confirmed that the city’s finances, staff, and decision-making processes were not compromised,” he added.

Previously reported by Blaze News, Sun was arrested in December 2024 on allegations of colluding with John Chen, a Chinese national sentenced for federal crimes. Sun was found guilty and is set to receive a four-year prison sentence in January 2025.

In light of Wang’s resignation, criticism regarding Chinese influence in American society has intensified, raising alarms about potential infiltration of communist funding into local governments and schools.

Republican Senator Mike Lee from Utah questioned, “How many more are there?” while Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg emphasized that elected officials in the U.S. must solely act for the American populace they represent.