91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Watch CBS News
Local News

Former aide to 2 N.Y. governors accused of being an undisclosed agent of China faces trial

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

Opening statements took place Wednesday in the trial of Linda Sun, an alleged Chinese agent who had been an aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and current Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, were arrested last year at their nearly $4 million mansion in Manhasset on the North Shore of Long Island. The , which is more than 50 pages long, alleges the two gained millions in benefits and bought luxurious properties, including a condo in Honolulu and numerous fancy cars, including a Ferrari. Hu, a liquor store owner, is accused of money laundering and bank fraud.

The two have pleaded not guilty.

Prosecution's opening statement

Sun served as a former deputy chief of staff, among other jobs, during her 13 years in state government. Prosecutors allege she was secretly an agent of the Chinese Communist Party, prevented officials from Taiwan from gaining access to the governor's office, forged Hochul's signature, and tampered with messages by New York state officials on issues of importance to China. 

Hochul previously said she was "outraged and absolutely shocked" by Sun's alleged behavior, calling it "a betrayal of trust."

Sun is also accused of illegally profiting from the state's bulk purchase of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's alleged she used her position of influence to steer contracts to certain vendors, like her cousin and vendors in China.

Prosecutors told jurors Sun "betrayed the state of New York for the Chinese government" and that her "loyalty was for sale."

Defense's opening statement

Defense attorneys argued that Sun did what she was hired to do. They painted a picture of the beginning of the pandemic and reminded jurors of the overflowing hospitals and desperation for PPE. They argued she located tens of thousands of ventilators, masks and other items, which were made in China.

They said she is not a foreign agent.

"She is an American and she is a New Yorker," they said, adding she was communicating with China because that was her job to "foster trade and good relations."

Her attorneys did ask jurors to keep an open mind, saying she did receive gifts because it's a cultural thing. However they also said there is no connection between the gifts and the things she is accused of doing.

Attorneys for Hu argued working hard and being successful were not crimes.

"You can't launder proceeds of a crime that didn't happen," defense attorneys said.

Read the indictment

by on


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=50747257b890e014813016b79ece0fb2'; 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(); } }); }); }); });