A Brooklyn jury deliberating in the case of a former New York state official accused of acting as an unregistered agent of China has deadlocked, officials said.
Judge Brian Cogan declared a mistrial in the case against Linda Sun on Monday afternoon after the jury passed him a note saying, “After extensive deliberations and redeliberations, the jury remains unable to reach a unanimous verdict. The jurors’ positions are firmly held.”
Jurors said they were deadlocked on all 19 counts of the indictment.
Sun, a former top aide to Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul faced charges of being an unregistered foreign agent, as well as wire fraud, visa fraud and money laundering.
Her husband, Chris Hu, faced charges of helping launder bribes through his various businesses and bank accounts. Both pleaded not guilty.
The decision sends federal prosecutors back to square one after a month-long trial where they called over 40 witnesses. Prosecutors had worked to paint Sun as a traitor, working to steer New York state policy toward the interests of the Chinese government and ruling Communist Party in exchange for millions of dollars in gifts and bribes.
Text messages presented at trial showed Sun bragging to consular officials about blocking meetings with Taiwanese officials and discouraging discussion of Uyghurs, a persecuted ethnic minority group.
Defense attorneys argued Sun was a dedicated public servant who was simply doing her job in a highly charged political environment. They said Hu’s business success in China was unrelated to his wife’s work in government.
Sun and Hu’s personal wealth was a major focus at trial, with prosecutors showing images of the family’s $3.6 million Manhasset mansion, $1.9 million Hawaii condo, and 2024 Ferrari Roma.
“Throughout this trial, Linda Sun has steadfastly maintained her innocence—and that does not change now,” attorney Jarrod Schaeffer said in a statement Monday. “We sincerely hope that the government recognizes what this mistrial indicates and that it declines to retry such unsound charges.”
A status conference to discuss next steps is set for Jan. 26.
This story has been updated with new information.
