New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she remains "confident" in the state's employee vetting program after her former aide was recently arrested and accused of acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.
Hochul addressed reporters Wednesday, a day after Linda Sun, 40, and her husband, Chris Hu, 41, were arrested. Sun was charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy.
Sun had touted "equity" policies in her position, a newly-resurfaced video from 2021 shows. The resurfaced video, which was a "Women in Government Leadership Webinar" presented by the New York chapter of the nonprofit Tzu Chi Foundation, was recorded on Dec. 16, 2021. At the time, Sun served as deputy chief of staff to Hochul.
Sun, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, served under Hochul's predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, as well.
"We have very high levels of background checks," Hochul said during a press conference on Wednesday. "They take an enormous amount of time. They will go back to basically people's kindergarten activities. So, we have, I feel confident in our vetting process right now. It is lengthy, it is intensive."
Sun and Hu pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon in Brooklyn and will be released on bond.
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"As alleged, while appearing to serve the people of New York as Deputy Chief of Staff within the New York State Executive Chamber, the defendant and her husband actually worked to further the interests of the Chinese government and the CCP," United States Attorney Breon Peace said, using the acronym for the Chinese Communist Party. "The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars."
Sun has been barred from having any contact with the People's Republic of China's consulate and mission.
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Her defense lawyer, Jarrod Schaeffer, said, "We’re looking forward to addressing these charges in court. Our client is understandably upset that these charges have been brought."
Hu is charged with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of means of identification.
"I believe that the Chinese government, with their behavior in doing this and working with Linda Sun is not acceptable," Hochul said while concluding the presser. "And it is a statement by us that we're not tolerating this. And anybody who represented that government needs to move on. That was what we made clear."
Fox News' Andrea Vacchiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
