ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
A longtime aide to Democratic governors in New York state was arrested today and charged with secretly working on behalf of China and China's Communist Party. Linda Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, face charges that they took millions of dollars in kickbacks. NPR's Brian Mann is following the case. Hey, Brian.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Hey, Ari.
SHAPIRO: So what do federal prosecutors allege that this couple did?
MANN: Well, they were arrested at their home on Long Island this morning. And the allegation here, Ari, is that Sun in particular used her role working at the highest levels of New York government to secretly lobby on behalf of the Chinese government. She allegedly acted to prevent New York officials from meeting with representatives of Taiwan. Chinese officials, of course, view Taiwan as a breakaway province, not as an independent nation. She also allegedly worked to arrange contacts between New York officials and officials from Beijing so they could influence state policy. She allegedly did all that without registering as an agent of China. If proven, that's a federal crime, a serious one. Both pleaded not guilty this afternoon.
SHAPIRO: How influential has Linda Sun been in New York politics?
MANN: She's been an important player for more than a decade. She worked as a top aide on diversity and economic development under the former governor, Andrew Cuomo, later for the current governor, Kathy Hochul, also worked for a time as the chief of staff to Grace Meng in the state assembly. Meng is now a member of Congress. And today U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement that while appearing to serve the people of New York through that time, Sun was actually serving the interests of the Chinese government.
SHAPIRO: And tell us more about what she and her husband allegedly got from China in return.
MANN: Federal officials now say they took more than $6 million in kickbacks that, allegedly, they concealed by channeling it through Chris Hu's businesses, plowing that cash into luxury real estate. One weird detail in this indictment, Ari - the FBI says a Chinese government official showed gratitude to Sun's family by having a personal chef send them a food delicacy, Nanjing-style salted duck. It was allegedly part of a long-running pattern of really close contact and favors that went on for years.
SHAPIRO: Well, what is the current governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, saying about this?
MANN: Yeah. Her office put out a statement today saying Sun was actually fired by New York State in March of last year after state officials discovered evidence of alleged misconduct. Hochul's office says they reported Sun's actions to law enforcement. And today federal officials did say that they thanked the governor's office for helping with this probe.
SHAPIRO: So can you tell us how serious a threat this sort of thing is - people in the U.S. or state governments working secretly on behalf of China?
MANN: Yeah. I was curious about this, too, so I reached out to Casey Michel today. He's an expert on foreign governments that attempt to influence U.S. policy. His new book is called "Foreign Agents." And he says China has been more aggressive working behind the scenes to lobby American officials.
CASEY MICHEL: You know, some of the details are shocking, but this absolutely mirrors similar networks for similar ends using similar mechanisms.
MANN: And the U.S. Justice Department officials say they're going to keep trying to root out foreign agents working to influence American policy. Meanwhile, Linda Sun and Chris Hu are going to be released on bond with court-mandated restrictions on their travel.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Brian Mann. Thank you.
MANN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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