{"id":2336599,"date":"2024-09-04T12:29:06","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T16:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-aides-arrest-complicates-andrew-cuomos-political-comeback-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-04T12:34:54","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T16:34:54","slug":"former-aides-arrest-complicates-andrew-cuomos-political-comeback-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-aides-arrest-complicates-andrew-cuomos-political-comeback-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Former aide\u2019s arrest complicates Andrew Cuomo\u2019s political comeback &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-aides-arrest-complicates-andrew-cuomos-political-comeback-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2336599&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The recent arrest of Linda Sun, a former aide \u2063to New York\u200c Governor Kathy Hochul and \u2063ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo, has\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-confirms-ketanji-brown-jackson-for-supreme-court\/\" title=\"Senate Confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson for Supreme Court\">raised significant concerns<\/a> about the political landscape in New York. Federal authorities apprehended Sun on allegations of acting as an undisclosed\u2062 foreign agent \u2064for the Chinese government.\u2062 The indictment\u2064 claims she accepted \u2062millions in benefits to assist Chinese officials in eavesdropping on government conversations, manipulating statements to favor China, and undermining Taiwanese representation in New York.<\/p>\n<p>While many of \u2063the\u2062 alleged actions took place during Cuomo&#8217;s governorship, Sun&#8217;s highest-ranking\u2063 role as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/somethings-brewing-dan-scavino-posts-series-of-tweets-after-raucous-oval-office-meeting-trump-is-ready-to-take-action\/\" title=\"SOMETHING\u2019S BREWING! Dan Scavino Posts Series of Tweets After Raucous Oval Office Meeting \u2013 Trump Is Ready to Take Action\">deputy chief<\/a> of\u2063 staff occurred under Hochul&#8217;s administration.\u200d Although neither Cuomo nor Hochul are criminally \u2063implicated, the allegations reveal that Sun&#8217;s influence could have affected policies during their tenures.<\/p>\n<p>Cuomo has distanced himself from Sun, emphasizing that \u200cher \u2063role was limited \u2064and that her\u200c influence \u200cwas more pronounced under Hochul. Despite this, \u2062her arrest comes at a critical time for\u200b Cuomo, who \u2062is contemplating a \u2063political comeback,\u200c including \u200ba potential \u200drun\u200c for mayor of New York City. The unfolding \u2063situation complicates\u200b his prospects, especially given the scrutiny of his past and the emerging narrative that implicates figures close to him in serious national security matters.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Former aide&rsquo;s arrest complicates Andrew Cuomo&rsquo;s political comeback<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1745151\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Former Democratic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>New York<\/a> Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/andrew-cuomo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Andrew Cuomo&rsquo;s<\/a> political comeback has been on the table since he resigned the state&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/governor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>governorship<\/a> following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnns-jake-tapper-rips-chris-cuomo-for-advising-his-brother\/\" title=\"CNN&#039;s Jake Tapper Rips Chris Cuomo for Advising His Brother\">sexual harassment allegations levied<\/a> against him.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Now Cuomo is back in the spotlight, but not for things that could benefit his electoral chances.<\/p>\n<p>Cuomo and Gov. Kathy Hochul&rsquo;s (D-NY) former aide, Linda Sun, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3141293\/former-hochul-aide-arrested\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>arrested<\/a> by federal authorities Tuesday on allegations that she acted as an undisclosed foreign agent for China&rsquo;s government.<\/p>\n<p>Sun allegedly accepted millions of dollars and other benefits in exchange for helping Chinese officials eavesdrop on at least one private state government conversation, alter government statements to be more favorable to China, among other things, and for her actions against Taiwanese representation in New York City.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the allegations took place during Cuomo&rsquo;s tenure as governor, though Sun didn&rsquo;t take her highest-ranking position of deputy chief of staff until Hochul took over. While the allegations don&rsquo;t implicate Cuomo or Hochul criminally, they show that Sun&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-judge-takes-issue-with-18-million-valuation-of-mar-a-lago\/\" title=\"NY Judge disputes M valuation of Mar-a-Lago.\">actions directly influenced<\/a> some of their actions and policies that weren&rsquo;t cracked down on until she was let go in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Cuomo has sought to distance himself from Sun.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Politician-2 [Hochul] listened to her advice more than Politician-1 [Cuomo],&rdquo; Sun said to a Chinese official in the indictment.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;National security is critical and must be free from foreign influence,&rdquo; Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi told the <em>Washington Examiner.<\/em> &ldquo;While Ms Sun was promoted to deputy chief of staff in the subsequent administration, during our time, she worked in a handful of agencies and was one of many community liaisons who had little to no interaction with the governor.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Cuomo&rsquo;s statement appears to severely downplay Sun&rsquo;s role in the administration. She worked directly for Cuomo as his director of Asian American Affairs and Queens Regional representative from around August 2012 to February 2015 before later becoming his deputy chief diversity officer from February 2018 to July 2020.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gov. Kathy Hochul&rsquo;s (D-NY) former aide, Linda Sun, leaves Brooklyn Federal Court after her arraignment, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo\/Corey Sipkin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Hochul&rsquo;s Deputy Chief Diversity Officer Priya Nair&rsquo;s biography said the responsibilities of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/governors-office-diversity-and-inclusion\/governors-office-diversity-and-inclusion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>role<\/a> are to &ldquo;advance diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across New York State government.&rdquo; This means that if Sun had similar responsibilities, she would have had influence over a large part of Cuomo&rsquo;s state government.<\/p>\n<p>Sun&rsquo;s involvement in Cuomo&rsquo;s governorship could hurt his chances of being reelected as the state&rsquo;s governor or, in a different, more likely office, hurt his chances of becoming New York&rsquo;s next mayor.<\/p>\n<p>Cuomo has been<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/2024\/05\/26\/cuomo-hitting-up-key-unions-as-he-lays-the-groundwork-for-potential-nyc-mayoral-run\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> floated<\/a> as a New York mayoral candidate, especially if incumbent Eric Adams decides not to run for reelection, given his low approval ratings. Cuomo said he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2023\/11\/21\/cuomo-mayor-adams-00128380\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>considers <\/a>Adams a friend and wouldn&rsquo;t run in a primary race with him.<\/p>\n<p>If Cuomo did run for mayor, without Adams as a consideration, he&rsquo;d face left-wing New York Comptroller Eric Lander and a host of other Democratic challengers. Lander would be the only other candidate in the race who could compete with Cuomo&rsquo;s name recognition.<\/p>\n<p>But the past allegations wouldn&rsquo;t be Cuomo&rsquo;s only electoral boon. He&rsquo;s been called to Capitol Hill to testify about his administration&rsquo;s handling of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. His administration was heavily criticized for its policy of still admitting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/america-first-vaccines-rolling-out-of-michigan-plant-headed-directly-for-american-hospitals\/\" title=\"America First: Vaccines Rolling Out of Michigan Plant, Headed Directly for American Hospitals\">nursing home patients<\/a> who tested positive for the virus and may have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/covid-deaths-nursing-homes-new-york-undercounted\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>undercounted<\/a> COVID-19 deaths in nursing home patients by as much as 50%.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAM<\/strong><\/a><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>I<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><strong>NER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Andrew Cuomo owes answers to the 15,000 families who lost loved ones in New York&rsquo;s nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic,&rdquo; said Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/andrew-cuomo-nursing-home-deaths-covid-19-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>statement<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We hope that during his public hearing next week, Mr. Cuomo will stop dodging accountability and honestly answer the American people,&rdquo; Wenstrup added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1745151\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1745151\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The arrest of a former aide complicates Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s political resurgence. After resigning as New York&#8217;s governor amid sexual harassment claims, Cuomo has been considering a return to politics. However, recent developments have put him back in the news for negative reasons. Linda Sun, who previously worked for both Cuomo and current Governor Kathy Hochul, was arrested by federal authorities on charges of acting as an undisclosed foreign agent for China. She allegedly received millions in benefits while assisting Chinese officials in eavesdropping on state government discussions and manipulating government statements to favor China, among other actions against Taiwanese representation in New York City. Although these allegations occurred during Cuomo\u2019s governorship, Sun only became deputy chief of staff under Hochul.<\/p>\n<p>While neither Cuomo nor Hochul is criminally implicated by these allegations, they highlight how Sun&#8217;s actions may have influenced their policies until her departure from the administration in 2023. In response to the situation, Cuomo has attempted to distance himself from Sun\u2019s activities; his spokesperson emphasized that she had limited interaction with him during his tenure.<\/p>\n<p>Sun held significant roles within the administration that could have given her considerable influence over various initiatives aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion across state government\u2014potentially impacting many aspects of governance under Cuomo.<\/p>\n<p>Cuomo\u2019s past connections with Sun could hinder his chances if he seeks re-election as governor or runs for mayor of New York City\u2014a position he has been speculated to pursue if current Mayor Eric Adams opts not to run again due to low approval ratings. While claiming friendship with Adams and ruling out a primary challenge against him, should Adams not seek reelection, Cuomo would face competition from other Democratic candidates like Comptroller Eric Lander.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, ongoing scrutiny regarding his administration&#8217;s handling of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose challenges for any potential political ambitions he may have moving forward. Critics are calling for accountability regarding decisions made that affected thousands of families who lost loved ones during this crisis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2336600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Cuomo.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[32284,35994,36289],"class_list":["post-2336599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-andrew-cuomo","tag-former-aide","tag-political-comeback"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Cuomo.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2336599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2336599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2336599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2336600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2336599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2336599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2336599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}