Kathy Hochul, Andrew Cuomo Respond After Ex-Aide Accuses Him of Ties to China

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo responded to accusations made Tuesday against a former aide of acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.

Linda Sun, 41, and her husband, Chris Hu, 40, were arrested Tuesday morning. Both pleaded not guilty during initial appearances in Brooklyn Superior Court Tuesday afternoon.

Sun, who held numerous positions in the New York state government, including as Hochul’s deputy chief of staff, used her positions to promote Beijing’s agenda in exchange for millions of dollars in pay and gifts, federal prosecutors said.

In an interview with WNYC, Hochul said she was outraged and shocked by Sun’s alleged behavior. She said her office fired Sun last year after discovering evidence of misconduct and immediately reported her actions to authorities.

“I am outraged, outraged and absolutely shocked by how egregious her behavior was,” Hochul said. “It was a betrayal of trust — the trust of the government, the trust of the people. And I will tell you, the moment we discovered levels of misconduct, we terminated her, we notified the authorities, and that is where this happened today.”

The indictment charged that Sun, at the request of Chinese officials, prevented Taiwanese government officials from accessing the governor’s office, influenced communications to align with Chinese government priorities and tried to arrange a visit to China by a senior New York politician.

In return, Chinese officials allegedly arranged transactions worth millions of dollars for Hu, who ran businesses in China. Prosecutors said Sun and Hu used the money to buy a $4.1 million property on New York’s Long Island, a $2.1 million Hawaiian condo and luxury cars, including a 2024 Ferrari Roma sports car.

The indictment charged that Sun also received gifts, including tickets to see guest Chinese orchestras and ballet troupes and “Nankajing salted ducks” prepared by a Chinese government official’s personal chef and delivered to Sun’s parents’ home in New York.

Hochul told WNYC that her office is “cooperating with the Department of Justice on this investigation and we will continue to make sure that all available information is released and that justice is served. This is absolutely shocking.”

A spokesman for Hochul’s office told The Associated Press that Sun was fired in March 2023. The governor declined to provide further details to WNYC regarding the misconduct that led to Sun’s firing.

Asked whether the allegations that Sun influenced the governor’s office’s position on Taiwan and other issues were true, Hochul said: “That’s what they’re alleging. That was obvious to us when we read the indictments. She worked primarily for Andrew Cuomo for many years thereafter. She was with me for only a short time, about 15 months. But what I read in the pleadings, today’s indictment was very focused on a lot of things that she did under the previous administration and some of the guidance that she tried to give us when I was lieutenant governor.”

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, downplayed Sun’s reach in the former governor’s administration. Azzopardi told the AP that Sun “worked in several agencies and was one of many community liaisons who had little or no contact with the governor.”

Newsweek contacted Azzopardi and Hochul’s offices for further comment via email.

Jarrod Schaeffer, Sun’s defense attorney, told the AP: “We look forward to addressing these allegations in court. Our client is understandably upset that these charges have been brought.”

Sun is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China. Her career in New York state government spanned about 15 years.

She held positions in the Cuomo administration, including as deputy diversity officer, and rose through the ranks to become Hochul’s deputy chief of staff. In November 2022, she took a job with the New York State Department of Labor as deputy commissioner for strategic business development, but left that job in March 2023, according to her LinkedIn profile.

The AP reported that the case against Sun is part of a broader Justice Department effort to expose covert Chinese government agents operating in the U.S.

In recent years, authorities have accused Chinese citizens of harassing and intimidating dissidents on behalf of the Chinese government and of covertly working to advance Beijing’s interests.

Last year, Newsweek investigation uncovered donations to prominent New York politicians from dozens of U.S.-based social media groups and their leaders with close ties to the United Front Work Department or the broader “united front system” operated globally by the Chinese Communist Party. The donations date back decades, and include former New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

These groups offer social services and business opportunities to their members, but critics say the Chinese Communist Party uses them to interfere in host country affairs by establishing contacts and influencing local politicians, acting as a network for “transnational repression” of party opponents around the world, and serving as a conduit for espionage for Chinese security services.