President Trump pardoned a former NYPD cop convicted in federal court of acting as an agent of China, though he had two GOP lawmakers in his corner, proclaiming his innocence.
A federal jury found Michael McMahon, a retired NYPD sergeant turned private investigator, guilty of acting as a foreign agent and interstate stalking after a two-week trial in June 2023. The jury acquitted him on a count of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent.
According to prosecutors, McMahon was “a critical member” of a Chinese campaign to intimidate dissident Xu Jin, a former Wuhan city official, and his family, with the end goal of pressuring Xu into returning to China.
McMahon was sentenced in April to 18 months in jail, despite prosecutors asking that he spend the next seven years behind bars.
The sentenced was commuted on Friday after Trump pardoned McMahon, following a campaign to spring the cop run by his wife, veteran “As the World Turns” actress Martha Byrne, and Reps. Mike Lawler (R-Westchester) and Pete Sessions (R-Texas).
“WE ARE BEYOND GRATEFUL!!!” Byrne, who has written a book about her husband’s case, wrote on X.
“Thank you @POTUS for pardoning Mike McMahon — a decorated NYPD Officer and 9/11 First Responder who never should have been prosecuted to begin with,” Lawler posted. “I was proud to work alongside Mike’s wife @MarthaByrne10 to secure his pardon and release.”
The pardon was first reported by the New York Times.
Lawler and Sessions, both China hawks who have taken strong stances against the Chinese Communist Party, co-signed a letter supporting Michael McMahon before his sentencing.
“Since being charged, Mr. McMahon has been unwavering in maintaining his innocence. We also believe in his innocence,” they wrote to Judge Pamela Chen in a letter filed by McMahon’s defense team in March. “Since the onset of this case, Michael has lost nearly everything while never wavering from his declaration of innocence.”
The case was the first trial prosecuting members of “Operation Fox Hunt,” a sweeping Chinese government effort to forcibly repatriate dissidents and fugitives across the globe, the feds said.
The plot involved forcing Xu’s elderly father to fly to the U.S. and dropping him on Xu’s sister-in-law’s doorstep on April 5, 2017.
McMahon, who was paid more than $19,000, was asked to dig up information on Xu and his family. He surveilled the sister-in-law’s house during the elderly man’s visit, all in the hope of following Xu to his Warren, N.J., home, prosecutors said.
The feds claim McMahon realized he was working for the Chinese government when he searched for Xu’s name — and did the job regardless.
YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images
Retired NYPD sergeant Michael McMahon leaves Brooklyn Federal Court in New York City on May 31, 2023. (Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)
At one point, after passing Xu’s name to a co-conspirator, McMahon texted a fellow private investigator that he was “waiting for a call” to determine what to do next, according to court filings.
“Yeah. From NJ State Police about an abduction,” the other P.I. quipped, and McMahon responded, “Lol.”
McMahon maintained he thought he was working for a private company, and that he “did everything by the book as a licensed private investigator.”
