Republican New York state Sen. Jake Ashby and a group of other Senate GOP colleagues sent a letter to state Legislature leaders calling for a bipartisan commission to generate recommendations and solutions to security lapses after a former aide to two New York governors was charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.
Linda Sun, who held numerous posts in New York state government, including deputy chief of staff for Gov. Kathy Hochul and deputy diversity officer for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was arrested last week along with her husband at their $4 million home on Long Island.
Prosecutors said Sun, at the request of Chinese officials, blocked representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access to the governor’s office and shaped New York governmental messaging to align with the priorities of the Chinese government, among other things. In return, her husband got help for his business activities in China.
“This isn’t just about fact-finding. It’s about making sure this never happens again. It doesn’t get much more consequential than national security,” State Sen. Ashby, of the Capital Region, said in a statement about his proposed commission.
Other lawmakers in the letter outlined recommendations for the panel, which include:
- Identifying and solving the deficiencies in the executive’s hiring process that would allow a Chinese Communist Party spy to infiltrate the highest levels of state government
- Auditing the state’s national security protocols and their resiliency to foreign interference
- Analyzing the chain-of-command processes that allowed the governor’s signature to be affixed to official documents by a foreign agent without appropriate authorization
- Investigating why it took so many years and a federal investigation for the accused’s behavior to attract the notice of any internal watchdogs or flag any security mechanisms
“It is our recommendation that each of you co-chair this commission to dispel the question of political motivation and to draw on the broad, diverse capabilities across the legislature’s full membership,” lawmakers wrote in the letter. “The commission should collaborate with outside experts, including national and cybersecurity professionals, federal law enforcement and intelligence officials, leaders in human resources, and other appropriate personnel. It must possess subpoena power.”
Sun and her husband pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Tuesday in Brooklyn and were released on bond. Sun has been barred from having any contact with the People’s Republic of China’s consulate and mission.
