The former Hochul assistant accused of working for China faces a new accusation of bribes

Linda Sun, a former assistant of Governor Kathy Hochul from New York, faces new accusations related to the positions that she used her position to benefit the Chinese government, according to an accusation of replacement against Mrs. Sun and her husband slowed on Tuesday.

Mrs. Sun, which served as Governor’s Cabinet ChiefHe is accused of bribery and violating the registration law of foreign agents, according to the accusation, revealed in the Federal District Court in Brooklyn. While the accusation does not include new criminal charges against Mrs. Sun, prosecutors accused her husband, Chris Hu, of three new money laundering charges.

Both defendants declared themselves innocent during a hearing on Tuesday before Judge Brian M. Cogan, who suggested that he would hold another hearing in two months to establish a trial date.

A lawyer from Mrs. Sun, Jarrod L. Schaeffer, said the new accusation did not “remedy the critical errors already identified in the previous accusation.” Seth Ducharme, lawyer of Mr. Hu, said that the new positions were not a surprise and that they did not “add much” to the case.

In SeptemberFederal Prosecutors of the Eastern District of New York accused Mr. Money Laundering and Mrs. Sun of 10 criminal positions, which include money laundering, visa fraud and not registering as a foreign agent. Prosecutors accused Mrs. Sun, who also worked for the predecessor of Governor Hochul, Andrew M. Cuomo, acting discreetly as Beijing agent, using her government position to benefit the Chinese Communist Party.

According to prosecutors, Mrs. Sun accepted luxurious gifts, including repeated shipments of salty ducks, in exchange for eliminating references to Taiwan from the communications of the state of New York, blocking Taiwanese officials from the governor’s office and preventing those officials They meet with state leaders.

Mrs. Sun also used her role to ensure that Mrs. Hochul did not publicly discuss the difficult situation of the Uigures, a mainly Muslim ethnic group in China that has faced the persecution of the Communist Party, prosecutors said.

The officials of the Department of Justice, particularly prosecutors in the Eastern District, have taken energetic measures in recent years in the clandestine efforts of Beijing to influence the policy of the United States and suppress dissidents. In August, Shujun Wang, a man from Queens, He was convicted of spying on Chinese dissidents. In December, a The man declared guilty To execute an advanced position of the secret police in Manhattan on behalf of the Chinese government.

Pam Bondi, the newly confirmed attorney of President Trump, issued a memorandum last week to the prosecutors who turn off your application of the Law of Registration of Foreign Agents, which has been used to aim at the reduction of Chinese influence. Prosecutors in recent years have used the law to accuse people, including Mrs. Sun and Michael Flynn, former National Security Advisor of Mr. Trump, with secret work on behalf of foreign governments.