Hochul and Cuomo blame the New York government for hiring a suspected Chinese agent

The FBI had been keeping an eye on Linda Sun long before the former adviser to New York Governor Kathy Hochul was charged with acting as an agent of the Chinese government.

The indictment against Sun describes how FBI agents met with her on July 15, 2020, while she was working for then-Governor Andrew Cuomo, and questioned her about a recent trip to China. It also says they gave her a warning.

They told her that if the Chinese Communist Party gave you something, it would “always demand something in return,” the indictment says.

In the days since their former aide's arrest, Hochul and Cuomo's representatives have pointed fingers at each other and blamed each other for Sun's rise, but both say the FBI did not tell them about its 2020 interview with Sun as she rose in New York state government.

Sun's arrest has forced Hochul to face repeated questions about whether her administration adequately screens applicants. She defended the screening process, saying it delves deeply into an applicant's past – down to an applicant's “kindergarten activities.” Hochul's office also said it was up to the FBI's discretion whether to disclose Sun's previous interview, since it was not among the things that would show up in a background check.

“As Governor Hochul said, we were shocked to learn of these extremely serious allegations,” said Hochul spokesman Avi Small. “The [Hochul] The government is conducting a comprehensive review, including a background check with the New York State Police, and the government has assisted the Department of Justice throughout the investigation.”

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, said the former governor's administration had no knowledge of the interview. “No [Cuomo] To our knowledge, no administrative official was ever informed of this,” he said.

Sun's meeting with federal investigators four years ago was first made public in the federal government's 65-page indictment, which accuses her and her husband, Chris Hu, of squandering millions of dollars in a plot to boost the Chinese government's standing during the Hochul and Cuomo administrations.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say Sun denied Taiwanese officials access to both governors – a move designed to satisfy the Chinese government. Taiwan has been at the center of a dispute with mainland China for decades, and Beijing is particularly sensitive to anything that could be seen as legitimizing Taiwanese sovereignty.

At one point, Sun arranged for a letter to help a Chinese delegation get a work visa to the U.S., the indictment says. Prosecutors say the letter was printed on Cuomo's letterhead and purportedly signed by then-Lieutenant Governor Hochul, but Hochul's signature is not authentic.

An FBI spokesman declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.

Sun's lawyer Jarrod Schaeffer declined to comment on the specific allegations or the details of the 2020 interview.

However, he said the allegations in the indictment are “just that – they are not evidence, and our client has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent.”

“We are concerned about some aspects of the government's investigation and look forward to challenging its claims in court, where actual evidence is required to support the allegations,” Schaeffer said. “We are also concerned about certain statements in the press that irresponsibly jump to judgment based on inflammatory allegations and a press release.”

According to the indictment, Sun voluntarily spoke to the bureau in 2020 for an interview about a trip to mainland China in September 2019. Sun was seen in several photographs, including one with two men with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party who were later listed as unnamed co-conspirators in her indictment.

One of the photos appeared in an online article titled “Chinese representatives abroad invited to reception marking 70th anniversary of founding of People's Republic of China at Great Hall of the People.” It was reportedly taken at an event where Chinese President Xi Jinping also delivered a speech.

“Sun confirmed that she was in the photo and claimed that she was already in [People’s Republic of China] for a family visit and that a Long Island real estate developer had arranged for her to receive a ticket to the event,” the indictment states.

Prosecutors now claim that Sun lied. One of her alleged co-conspirators arranged her trip to China to attend events organized by an organization closely linked to the Chinese Communist Party. And the other alleged co-conspirator paid for her travel arrangements and hotels.

The indictment states that FBI agents made it clear that Sun knew about the Foreign Agent Registration Act, which requires all persons representing foreign interests in the United States to publicly register with the Department of Justice.

At the time, Sun was Cuomo's liaison to the Asian American community. When Hochul took office in 2021, she promoted Sun to deputy chief of staff, calling her “the highest-appointed Asian American in the administration” in a press release.

It is clear from the indictment that Sun believed she had more influence with Hochul than with Cuomo, even when Cuomo was governor. When the Chinese consul general asked for a recorded New Year's message from Cuomo in 2021, Sun replied that she could probably reach Hochul – because she believed the lieutenant governor listened to her advice more than the governor, according to the indictment.

Since the indictment, Hochul has said she was “shocked” by Sun's “brazen” actions. She said she fired Sun in 2023 after her administration discovered evidence of wrongdoing and turned it over to authorities. And she was keen to stress that it was her predecessor who hired Sun in the first place.

“The moment we discovered it, she was gone,” Hochul said Wednesday.

Cuomo's spokesman, in turn, pointed out that it was Hochul who promoted Sun to deputy chief of staff.

In a press release, Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, praised the Hochul administration for its cooperation.

Republican state Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt called for an “immediate, bipartisan investigation” to determine how Sun allegedly managed to infiltrate the Cuomo and Hochul administrations.

“The fact that a spy from a hostile country was infiltrated into the highest levels of our state government under two administrations is an alarming security failure that endangers both New York and the entire country,” he said.

Speaking to reporters in Manhattan on Wednesday, Hochul expressed confidence in the state's vetting process for appointing members of the administration – even though information from Sun appears to be leaking through the cracks.

“We do a lot of background checks,” Hochul said. “They take a tremendous amount of time. They'll basically go back to people's kindergarten activities. So I'm confident right now about our screening process. It's lengthy and intensive.”