FIRST ON FOX – Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., is demanding answers from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul regarding former senior aide Linda Sun, who was recently indicted for allegedly being an agent for the Chinese Communist Party.
Tenney penned a letter to the Democratic governor this week, and inquiring about how Sun had influenced the state's government and economy, as well as possible links to reported secret Chinese police stations operating in the Big Apple.
"These allegations are deeply disturbing and call into question your judgment in hiring, and listening to, such an individual. I urge the appointment of a bipartisan panel to investigate you and your administration's actions, and the full impact of Ms. Sun's influence on the New York State government and economy," Tenney wrote to Hochul, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, were arrested on Tuesday in connection to a federal indictment unsealed in the Eastern District of New York accusing her of acting as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government and wielding her influence as a deputy chief of staff in the New York State executive chamber to covertly promote People's Republic of China (PRC) and CCP agendas. Prosecutors say the scheme, which allegedly also involved them laundering millions of dollars for China and using kickbacks to buy themselves properties and luxury vehicles, directly threatened national security.
Tenney, in her letter, called into question Hochul's judgment in hiring Sun. Hochul told reporters on Wednesday that she found the allegations against Sun "absolutely shocking" but was still "confident in our vetting process right now," which includes "very high levels of background checks."
The congresswoman's letter said the allegations against Sun "call into question numerous policy decisions by your administration," and asked "what influence, if any, Ms. Sun had on these decisions."
"For example, numerous reports have detailed that the CCP operates secret police stations in New York City to monitor, intimidate, and control Chinese New Yorkers and New York State has yet to take serious action against these stations. Did Ms. Sun play any role in the decision to allow these police stations to operate?"
Last year, two people were arrested in New York City for allegedly operating a clandestine police station in Manhattan's Chinatown for a branch of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. The U.S. Department of Justice said in the complaint at the time that the defendants had worked together "to establish the first overseas police station in the United States."
In her letter, Tenney encouraged Hochul to "wholeheartedly apologize to our Taiwanese partners for this detrimental impact that Ms. Sun's actions have had on the relationship between Taiwan and the New York State Government," noting how the federal indictment alleges that Sun frequently screened anti-CCP or pro-Taiwan rhetoric from New York State officials' remarks, fraudulently used New York State resources to assist CCP officials to enter the United States, blocked meeting requests from anti-CCP or pro-Taiwan organizations and leveraged her position for private material gain.
"While these actions have only recently come to light, we still do not know the full impact that Ms. Sun's actions have had on the New York State government or economy," Tenney wrote.
Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul's office for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
The governor's office said that Sun, who had worked in Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administrations, had been fired in March 2023 for misconduct and that they are fully cooperating with the federal investigation.
Tenney's letter asks Hochul to disclose when she learned that Sun was a compromised CCP agent, including whether that was before or after being informed by the DOJ. Noting Sun's "repeated attempts to censor New York State officials' speeches to comply with CCP talking points," Tenney asked Hochul if the governor ever suspected that Sun "may have had an inappropriate relationship with the CCP."
Hochul is also asked to provide a list of how many, if any, meetings she had with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) or the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) officials during her time as governor and lieutenant governor, as well as a list of how many meetings she had with CCP officials during that same time.
"Will you commit to meeting with TECO and apologizing for Ms. Sun's attempt to bar them from official meetings with New York State officials?" Tenney asked.
The letter asks Hochul whether she recognizes "the important role that New York's trade relationship with Taiwan plays in our economy and the importance of maintaining strong ties with Taiwan."
It also asks whether the governor will commit to recognizing a Taiwanese-American Heritage Week in 2025, whether Hochul recognizes "the ongoing CCP genocide of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Province" and whether the governor regrets not including a remark "about this atrocity in your 2021 Lunar New Year video, as was originally intended before Ms. Sun's intervention."
Tenney also asks Hochul what steps, if any, the governor has taken to ensure that there are no other compromised CCP agents within her administration or who will be allowed to join it. The letter lists a Sept. 18 deadline for Hochul to provide responses to Tenney's questions. Tenney also asked that Hochul advise on her intentions to create a panel "to investigate the impacts of Ms. Sun's actions" and to provide information on her "intentions to apologize to our Taiwanese partners."
