China’s consul general in New York expelled after assistant accused of espionage, Hochul says

CNN
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China’s consul general in New York has been expelled after a former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo was accused of acting as an agent of the Chinese government, Hochul said Wednesday.

Before she answered questions at one of the meetings, Hochul said she spoke by phone with a senior State Department official at Antony Blinken’s request.

“I expressed my desire to expel the Prosecutor General of the People’s Republic of China and the New York mission. I was also informed that the Prosecutor General is no longer serving in the New York mission,” Hochul said in an unrelated part of the press conference.

CNN has reached out to the Chinese Consulate General in New York for comment.

Hochul’s statement came after Linda Sun, Hochul’s former deputy chief of staff and Cuomo’s assistant, was charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy, according to a declassified copy of the indictment.

Her husband and co-defendant, Chris Hu, was also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as well as misuse of identifying equipment, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Sun and Hu pleaded not guilty in federal court Tuesday afternoon. Sun’s bail was set at $1.5 million and her husband’s at $500,000.

Hochul said Wednesday that she has been helping the Justice Department for months and will continue to cooperate with them.

She called Sun’s actions “an absolute betrayal of the trust of two administrations in the state government” and went so far as to “even forge my signature on documents.”

Hochul said the FBI “asked her one question” — to see if anything was her signature.

Hochul said Sun was a “mid-level assistant,” adding that she did not have contact with her “very often” and that as governor she had “no real role in my policies.”

The governor said she “has confidence in our current vetting process.”

“We conduct very rigorous background checks,” Hochul said.

The governor cautioned that she could not provide detailed information about the investigation into Sun: “There is an ongoing investigation, there will be legal proceedings, possibly a trial – all of that will be revealed, but I cannot disclose that information at this time,” she said.

Sun acted as an “undisclosed agent of the Chinese government while her husband, Hu, facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in bribes for personal gain,” prosecutors said in a news release.

While working for the state government, prosecutors allege in the indictment, Sun influenced communications from senior government officials on issues of concern to China, prevented Taiwanese government officials from accessing officials and obtained official statements from New York state to Chinese government officials without authorization.

The couple’s arrest comes at a time when U.S.-China relations remain strained over a number of issues, including Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan and U.S. trade controls targeting China.

CNN has reached out to the U.S. State Department and the Chinese Embassy in Washington for comment.

This is a developing story that will be updated.