91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Watch CBS News
Local News

N.Y. governors' former aide accused of being Chinese agent could face 2nd trial after jury deadlocked

By
Jesse Zanger
Managing Editor, CBS New York
Jesse Zanger is the managing editor of CBSNewYork.com. Jesse has previously worked for the Fox News Channel and Spectrum News NY1. He covers regional news around the Tri-State Area, with a particular focus on breaking news and extreme weather.
Read Full Bio
Jesse Zanger,
Alice Gainer
Alice Gainer
Alice Gainer
Alice Gainer joined CBS News New York as a reporter and anchor in January 2013. She covers breaking, feature and general assignment stories.
Read Full Bio
Alice Gainer

/ CBS New York

A New York judge declared a mistrial Monday in the case of a former aide to two governors accused of acting as a foreign agent of China after the jury again came back deadlocked. 

The jury in Linda Sun's trial had said last week it was at an impasse, but the judge urged them to keep deliberating. However, the jury said Monday they could not reach a unanimous verdict on any of the 19 counts.

The accusations against Linda Sun 

Sun, who served Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was charged with money laundering and bribery, among other charges. Her husband, Chris Hu, was accused of money laundering and bank fraud.

Prosecutors alleged Sun and Hu made millions by selling her influence to the Chinese government and profiting from a personal protective equipment, or PPE, fraud scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both pled not guilty. 

Sun and Hu were arrested last year at their Manhasset mansion. The  alleges the two used the funds to buy a condo in Honolulu and luxury cars, including a Ferrari.

Sun spent 13 years in state government and allegedly used her position to prevent officials from Taiwan from meeting with Hochul. She also allegedly forged Hochul's signature and tampered with official messages on issues of importance to China. 

During the trial's opening statements, prosecutors told jurors Sun, "betrayed the state of New York for the Chinese government" and that her "loyalty was for sale."

The defense argued Sun did what she was supposed to do, namely purchasing PPE during the pandemic. 

Prosecutors want a retrial

An alternate juror was present Monday when deliberations resumed because one juror was dismissed due to travel plans. 

After the mistrial, prosecutors told the judge they want a retrial as soon as possible, prompting attorneys for Sun and Hu to criticize the government's case.

"We sincerely hope that the government recognizes what this mistrial means and that it declines to retry such unsound charges again," Jarrod L. Schaeffer, Sun's attorney, said. 

"The government has exemplified the flaws in their theory and the jury has resounded that those flaws with its inability to reach a verdict on any of the counts in this case," said attorney Nicole Boeckmann, who represented Hu. 

A status conference is scheduled for Jan. 26.

In:

© 2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
const link = doc.createElement('link'); link.rel = 'stylesheet'; link.href = '/fly/fly/bundles/cbsnewscontent/css/cmp-banner.min.css?v=296763317a51cab90faa73f1bb146d5c'; doc.head.appendChild(link); doc.body.innerHTML = CONSENT_MESSAGE; } else { el.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', CONSENT_MESSAGE); } }); } function hidePrivacyMessage() { // Remove from the main document document.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); // Remove from inside any iframes document.querySelectorAll('iframe').forEach(iframe => { const doc = iframe.contentDocument || iframe.contentWindow.document; doc.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); }); } function activateGatedScripts() { // Handle both new format (cmp-gated-script) and old OneTrust/Ketch format (optanon-category-4) const gatedScripts = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('script.cmp-gated-script, script.optanon-category-4')); // Activate scripts sequentially with a small delay to avoid timing issues let delay = 0; gatedScripts.forEach(function(placeholder, index) { setTimeout(function() { // Skip if already processed if (placeholder.hasAttribute('data-cmp-processed')) { return; } placeholder.setAttribute('data-cmp-processed', 'true'); const newScript = document.createElement('script'); newScript.type = 'text/javascript'; // Try new format first (data-cmp-src), then fall back to old format (data-src) const src = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-src') || placeholder.getAttribute('data-src'); if (src) { newScript.src = src; } else if (placeholder.textContent) { // Inline script - just copy the content newScript.textContent = placeholder.textContent; } // Handle new format attributes (data-cmp-attrs) - for both inline and external scripts const attrs = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-attrs'); if (attrs) { const tempDiv = document.createElement('div'); tempDiv.innerHTML = '
<\/div>'; const tempAttrs = tempDiv.firstChild.attributes; for (let i = 0; i < tempAttrs.length; i++) { // For external scripts, allow defer/async. For inline scripts, skip them (not valid) if (src || (tempAttrs[i].name !== 'async' && tempAttrs[i].name !== 'defer')) { newScript.setAttribute(tempAttrs[i].name, tempAttrs[i].value); } } } // Copy other attributes from old OneTrust format for (let i = 0; i < placeholder.attributes.length; i++) { const attr = placeholder.attributes[i]; // Skip attributes we've already handled or don't want to copy if (!['class', 'data-src', 'data-type', 'data-cmp-src', 'data-cmp-attrs', 'data-cmp-processed', 'type', 'async', 'defer', 'src'].includes(attr.name)) { newScript.setAttribute(attr.name, attr.value); } } placeholder.parentNode.replaceChild(newScript, placeholder); // If external script, manually trigger window.onload handlers after it loads // This handles widgets that use window.onload for initialization if (src) { newScript.addEventListener('load', function() { // If page already loaded and script set a new onload handler, trigger it if (document.readyState === 'complete' && window.onload) { const originalOnload = window.onload; window.onload = null; // Clear temporarily to prevent loops originalOnload(); // Execute the handler } }); } }, delay); delay += 500; // 500ms delay between each script to allow full loading }); } cbsoptanon.onScriptsReady(function(cmp) { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (!allowed) { showPrivacyMessage(); } else { activateGatedScripts(); } }); cmp.ot.awaitInitialConsent(function(consent_model) { cmp.ot.addOnConsentChangedHandler(function() { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (allowed) { hidePrivacyMessage(); activateGatedScripts(); } else { showPrivacyMessage(); } }); }); }); });