Aide to NY governors charged as Chinese agent

Former New York Governor Kathy Hochul aide Linda Sun, right, and her husband, Christopher Hu leave Brooklyn Federal Court after their arraignment

Linda Sun, right, and her husband, Christopher Hu, leave Brooklyn Federal Court after their arraignment

(Image credit: Corey Sipkin / AP Photo)

published 4 September 2024

What happened

Linda Sun, a former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, was arrested Tuesday and charged with being an unregistered foreign agent of the Chinese government. Sun's husband, Christopher Hu, was also arrested and charged with money laundering, bank fraud and other crimes.

Sun used her positions in New York's government, including as Hochul's deputy chief of staff, to "further the interests of the Chinese government," U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. "The illicit scheme enriched the defendant's family to the tune of millions of dollars." Prosecutors said Sun and Hu used the Chinese payments to buy their $3.6 million Long Island house, a $1.9 million condo in Hawaii and several luxury cars, including a 2024 Ferrari. The couple also allegedly received all-expenses-paid trips to China and numerous deliveries of "Nanjing-style salted ducks" prepared by a Chinese government official's personal chef.

Hochul's office said Sun was fired in March 2023 due to "evidence of misconduct" that was "immediately reported" to law enforcement. The charges, "if true, would represent a brazen manipulation of New York State government at the highest level" by the Chinese government, The New York Times said.

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.