Gov. Kathy Hawkle was “outraged” after learning one of her former aides was acting as a spy for China within the governor's office and state government.
“I'm outraged and I'm outraged and I'm really shocked at the audacity of her actions,” Hoekl told WNYC's Sean Carlson on Tuesday afternoon, referring to Linda Sun, the former deputy chief of staff who has been indicted on charges of acting as a foreign agent for China.
“It was a breach of trust,” she continued.
“We are working with the Department of Justice on this investigation and will continue to work to ensure that all publicly available information is revealed and justice is achieved,” she said.
Hawkle's comments came shortly after Sun, 41, and her husband, Chris Foo, 40, pleaded not guilty to charges of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, smuggling and money laundering.
The indictment alleges that Sun used her position to help her husband's shady medical device company profit from pandemic relief, and that she also tried to directly influence the government's relations with China in exchange for lavish gifts.
Sun was first hired by the Cuomo administration in 2012 and served in several different roles. Hochle, who became governor following Cuomo's resignation, hired Sun as his deputy chief of staff in 2021.
Ho Chol was quick to distance himself from mid-level officials after Son and Hu were arrested on Tuesday morning.
“This individual was employed by the Executive Office more than a decade ago. We terminated her employment in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct, immediately reported her conduct to law enforcement, and have assisted law enforcement throughout this process,” a spokesperson for Hokell said in a statement early Tuesday.
Cuomo has also remained relatively silent, even taking the opportunity to shift the blame to Hoekl.
“National security is vital and must be free from foreign influence,” Cuomo's press secretary, Rich Azzopardi, said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“Though Sun was promoted to deputy chief of staff in subsequent administrations, during our tenure he was one of many community liaisons who worked for a handful of agencies and had little to no interaction with the governor.”
