FBI arrests former top aide to NY Gov. Kathy Hochul

A former top aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday morning, a senior law enforcement official said.

The charges against Linda Sun, who left the governor’s office nearly two years ago, were not immediately clear. Her husband, Chris Hu, was also arrested.

The FBI and a spokesperson for the Eastern District of New York both confirmed the arrests but declined to comment on the nature of the charges. The pair are expected to appear in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday afternoon.

The arrests come six weeks after FBI agents searched the couple’s $3.5 million home in a gated community in Manhasset on Long Island.

According to her government bio, Sun was appointed deputy chief of staff to Hochul, a Democrat, in September 2021. At the time, she was the highest-appointed Asian American in the administration.

After leaving Hochul’s office, she served briefly as a deputy secretary in the state Labor Department.

A person familiar with the circumstances of her departure said she was fired after evidence of misconduct was discovered. The matter was forwarded to law enforcement at the time, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss personnel matters. The person declined to detail the nature of the alleged misconduct.