FIRST ON FOX – Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., is demanding answers from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul regarding her former top aide Linda Sun, who was recently indicted on charges of allegedly being an agent of the Chinese Communist Party.
Tenney wrote a letter to the Democratic governor this week asking how Sun had influenced the state's government and economy, as well as about possible ties to alleged 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 that a bipartisan panel be appointed to investigate the actions of you and your administration, and the full impact of Ms. Sun's influence on New York State government and the 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 Tuesday in connection with a federal indictment unsealed in the Eastern District of New York, accusing her of acting as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government and using her influence as deputy chief of staff in the New York state executive chamber to covertly advance the agendas of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the CCP. Prosecutors say the scheme, which allegedly also involved them laundering millions of dollars for China and using bribes to buy themselves luxury properties and vehicles, directly threatened national security.
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Former New York Gov. Kathy Hochul aide Linda Sun is accused of purchasing $6 million worth of properties in New York and Hawaii with Chinese Communist Party money. (Getty Images)
In her letter, Tenney questioned Hochul's judgment in hiring Sun. Hochul told reporters Wednesday that she found the allegations against Sun “absolutely shocking” but that she was still “confident in our vetting process at this time,” which includes “very high levels of background checks.”
The congresswoman's letter said the allegations against Sun “call into question numerous policy decisions of her 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 an underground police station in Manhattan's Chinatown for a branch of China's Ministry of Public Security. The U.S. Justice Department said in the complaint filed 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 leaked anti-CCP or pro-Taiwan rhetoric from New York State officials’ comments, fraudulently used New York State resources to assist CCP officials in entering 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 do not yet know the full impact Ms. Sun's actions have had on New York State government or the economy,” Tenney wrote.
Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul's office for comment but did not immediately respond.
Attorney Seth DuCharme walks past Linda Sun, an aide to former New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, center, and her husband, Christopher Hu, left, as they leave Brooklyn Federal Court following his arraignment, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
The governor's office said Sun, who had served in the administrations of Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, had been fired in March 2023 for misconduct and that they are cooperating fully with the federal investigation.
Tenney’s letter asks Hochul to reveal when she learned that Sun was a compromised CCP operative, including whether that was before or after the Justice Department informed her. Noting Sun’s “repeated attempts to censor speech by New York State officials to conform to CCP talking points,” Tenney asked Hochul if the governor ever suspected that Sun “may have had an inappropriate relationship with the CCP.”
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Hochul is also asked to provide a list of how many meetings, if any, she had with officials from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) or the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) during her tenure as governor and vice 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 prevent them from officially meeting with New York state officials?” Tenney asked.
Aerial view of Chris Hu and Linda Sun's home in Manhasset, New York. (J. Conrad Williams Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images)
The letter asks Hochul if 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 acknowledges “the CCP’s ongoing genocide against Uyghurs in Xinjiang Province,” and whether the governor regrets not including commentary “on this atrocity in her 2021 Lunar New Year video, as originally intended prior to Ms. Sun’s intervention.”
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Tenney also asks Hochul what steps, if any, the governor has taken to ensure that no other CCP operatives are compromised within her administration or who will be allowed to join her. The letter lists a September 18 deadline for Hochul to respond to Tenney’s questions. Tenney also asked Hochul to inform him of her intentions to create a panel “to investigate the impacts of Ms. Sun’s actions” and to provide information about her “intentions to apologize to our Taiwanese partners.”
