President Donald Trump has issued a pardon for a former New York police sergeant, Michael McMahon, who was convicted of assisting China in an attempt to coerce an ex-official into returning to his home country. The case was a prominent example of US authorities' efforts to counter what they describe as Beijing's extensive attempts to suppress critics abroad.
McMahon received an 18-month prison sentence this spring for his involvement in what a federal judge termed "a campaign of transnational repression." He consistently maintained his innocence, stating he was "unwittingly used" after taking what he believed to be a straightforward private-investigator assignment. McMahon asserted he was informed he was working for a Chinese construction company, not the nation's government.
