A former top aide to Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul was China’s “woman in New York state government,” prosecutors said this week during the closing arguments in her criminal trial in Brooklyn federal court.
“Linda Sun betrayed the state of New York to enrich herself,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Solomon told jurors Tuesday. “She did the bidding of the Chinese government so that she and her husband, Chris Hu, could get rich.”
The case against Sun carries international political implications that an unregistered foreign agent worked within the offices of two Democratic governors to advance policy favorable to the Chinese government. She faces charges of being an unregistered foreign agent for China, as well as wire fraud, visa fraud and money laundering. Hu faces charges of helping launder bribes through his various businesses and bank accounts. Both have pleaded not guilty.
The jury is expected to begin deliberating on Thursday.
Sun’s defense attorneys said the prosecution’s case was no more than a “hodgepodge of accusations.”
In his closing arguments, attorney Kenneth Abell compared the government’s case to a “movie plot” that “doesn’t hold together.” While he acknowledged Sun may have made some mistakes, “she did not commit a crime.”
Prosecutors say Sun performed tasks in service of the Chinese government and the ruling Communist Party. They argue Sun “single-handedly” blocked a meeting between Cuomo and the president of Taiwan, secretly added a Chinese official to a private government conference call, and forged Hochul’s signature as part of a visa application for a visiting Chinese delegation.
In exchange, prosecutors say Sun received gifts like millions of dollars in secret payments and Nanjing salted ducks. Prosecutors say Hu laundered the money through his Queens lobster exporting business and routed $1.5 million in kickbacks through an account he’d set up in Sun’s mother’s name.
Prosecutors showed jurors an image of Sun’s seized cellphone case, which they said illustrated her mindset. The back of the case, decorated with cartoon animals, reads “Get rich, good luck.”
Defense attorneys argued Sun’s actions were in line with her job to serve as a liaison between the Asian American community and the state government. They say her advice to steer clear of issues regarding Taiwan and mainland China was consistent with U.S. foreign policy.
Abell said the government did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the money flowing into Hu’s lobster exporting business was related to Sun’s work, rather than legitimate income.
“It’s not illegal to have money,” Abell said. “It’s not illegal to spend it.”
Abell also disputed the prosecution's claim that Sun forged Hochul’s signature on an invitation to a visiting Chinese delegation. While Hochul’s former Chief of Staff Jeff Lewis testified he did not believe the signature looked like hers, the governor herself did not testify at trial.
Hu’s defense attorney Nicole Boeckmann told jurors the government is asking them “to take the shadow for the substance.”
“The government has fallen short,” she said. “And your job is to make sure that justice is served.”
