A Brooklyn Democrat who became infamous for biting off a police officer's arm during a homeless shelter protest has since enlisted the support of protesters with ties to the Chinese Communist Party to set up a legal defense fund to pay his legal fees, The Washington Post has learned.
Rep. Susan Zuan (D-Brooklyn) Documents submitted to the City's Conflict of Interest Committee She confirmed that she had set up a lawyers' trust, a controversial mechanism that allows her to accept donations in a similar way to political campaigns, to pay her legal fees.
Zhuang said the funds she received will go toward legal costs for the numerous criminal charges she faces, including assault and resisting arrest, for allegedly sinking her teeth into the arm of NYPD Deputy Chief Frank DiGiacomo during a July 17 protest against the proposed Bensonhurst shelter.
The legal defense fund strategy was used by Mayor Eric Adams last year to cover legal fees for a federal investigation into his 2021 mayoral election, but is otherwise rare in New York City.
One city council member said it was incredible that Juan was raising money for self-defense after being caught on camera sinking his teeth into a police officer.
“I'm sure Susan knows she's guilty and is raising money for another legal defense fund,” the source quipped, “but I don't know what kind of person would donate to such a cause.”
Hundreds of people gathered for the July 28 demonstration to support the Zhuang ethnic group, but flyers for the event listed a contact number for John Chang, who runs the Asian American Community Empowerment, a nonprofit with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
At the time, Mr. Zhuang tried to distance himself from Mr. Chen's group and the organizers of the July 28 rally. WeChat messages previously obtained by The Washington Post show Mr. Zhuang advising protesters on how to act and what signs to carry at the rally.
According to the San Francisco Standard, Chang led a campaign in San Francisco in November to await President Xi Jinping's arrival, drowning out the screams of protesters who said their relatives had been harmed by the Chinese government.
He also reportedly sponsored a small group of state Republican lawmakers to travel to China to meet with Chinese Communist Party leaders a month later.
Zhuang acknowledged to the Post that he went on a “family trip” to China last month, but said: [her] Those accompanying Chan on the excursion were his “political opponents.”
When asked if he had met Zhuang in China, Zhang replied, “I don't know,” and then hung up the phone with the reporter.
Feng Ming, one of the three directors of Zhuang's legal defense fund, also argued that Zhuang's trip to China was simply a “family trip”.
Recent Online Petition The letter, addressed to Mayor Adams, City Council President Adrienne Adams and Councillor Sandra Ng, chair of the Ethics Committee, called for Chuang to be censured.
“We urge you to take immediate action to hold Councilman Zhuang accountable,” the petition, which had 123 signatures as of Friday.
In addition to Adams and Chuang, former Mayor Bill de Blasio has also expressed interest in setting up a legal defense trust to help pay $300,000 in legal fees incurred in connection with a federal investigation into his political fundraising.
But Mayor de Blasio never established such a funding mechanism, even after the City Council passed a bill creating one in 2019.
