Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) responded to the arrest of his former aide, Linda Sun, saying he thinks there may be more international spies working in the United States.
Cuomo joined the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on Tuesday afternoon, where he was questioned by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) about his involvement in Sun’s indictment.
Sun, who also worked for Cuomo’s successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), was arrested last week and charged with acting as an agent of the Chinese government.
Cuomo, who was not named in the indictment, said Tuesday that it is a “very serious matter.”
He admitted that Sun was a “junior member” of his administration and that he may not recognize her if she was in the hearing room today, potentially alluding to how little they worked in a close proximity.
Sun eventually became Hochul’s deputy chief of staff. Hochul’s office said it terminated Sun’s employment in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct.
City & State New York reporter Rebecca C. Lewis shared older photos online of at least two instances where Sun and Cuomo met.
“I think it is a serious matter. I don’t think this was just in New York. I think there is an infiltration of Chinese, maybe Russian, operatives,” Cuomo said.
He said its both a state government and federal government issue and “we should work together on it” but state governments don’t have the ability to do “international reconnaissance” in the way the federal government can.
“I think they should work together to make sure they’re doing the best they can to do the vetting,” Cuomo said.
Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, were arrested and both pleaded not guilty last week.
The indictment argues Sun engaged in “numerous political activities” in China’s interest, including “blocking representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access” to the governor’s office, changing New York state’s messaging around issues of importance to China and obtaining governor’s office proclamations for China without proper authorization, among others.
Sun and Hu received “substantial economic” benefits from the Chinese government, including millions of dollars, travel benefits, event tickets, and more.
They laundered the money to buy their $3.6 million Long Island home and $1.9 million Hawaii condo, as well as luxury automobiles, the indictment said.