After NY governor says China’s consul general was removed, State Department says ‘there was no expulsion action’

(CNN) — Following New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s comments Wednesday that China’s consul general in New York was removed from his position after her former aide was charged with acting as an agent for the Chinese government, the US State Department said later that “there was no expulsion action.”

The diplomat had reached the end of their regularly scheduled rotation and left at the end of August, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Wednesday at a briefing.

However, a spokesperson for the Chinese Consulate General in New York said diplomat Huang Ping is “performing his duties as usual,” according to a statement to CNN Wednesday, seemingly conflicting with the comments made by Hochul and the State Department.

At a news conference earlier Wednesday, Hochul said she was on the phone with a high-ranking State Department official at the request of Antony Blinken about Huang Ping’s status. Hochul spoke with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, Miller said.

Hochul said during the phone call she “conveyed my desire to have the consul general from the People’s Republic of China at the New York Mission expelled, and I’ve been informed that the consul general is no longer in the New York Mission.”

When asked to clarify if the consul general was expelled, Hochul responded, “I know that they’re no longer in their position. That’s all I know.”

Miller said there was no expulsion action: “The consul general was not expelled. Our understanding is that the consul general reached the end of a regularly scheduled rotation in August, and so rotated out of the position, but was not expelled.”

“But, of course, when it comes to the status of particular employees of a foreign mission, I would refer you to the foreign country to speak to it, but there was no expulsion action,” Miller said.

“That said, foreign interference, including attempts to influence through covert activities that should be registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and are not registered, are things that we take very seriously, as you saw by the action the Department of Justice took yesterday,” Miller added.

When asked about the consul general’s involvement, Hochul said, “I believe that the Chinese government, with their behavior, in doing this and working with Linda Sun, is not acceptable – it is a statement by us that we’re not tolerating this. Anybody representing that government needs to move on. That was what we made clear.”

Hochul’s comments came after Sun, a former deputy chief of staff to Hochul and an aide to then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registrations Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy, according to an unsealed copy of the indictment.

Her husband and co-defendant, Chris Hu, was also charged with money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit bank fraud as well as misusing means of identification, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Sun and Hu both pleaded not guilty to all charges in federal court Tuesday afternoon. Sun’s bond is set at $1.5 million and her husband’s is set at $500,000.

Hochul said Wednesday she’s been helping the Department of Justice for months and will continue to work with them.

She called Sun’s actions an “absolute betrayal of the trust of two administrations in state government,” and went as far as “even forging my signature on documents.”

Hochul said the FBI “asked her one question” – to verify whether something was her signature.

Hochul said Sun was a “mid-level aide” and said she didn’t have contact with her “very often” and had “no real role in my policies” as governor.

The governor said she feels “confident in our vetting process right now.”

“We have very high levels of background checks,” Hochul said.

The governor cautioned she wasn’t able to provide detailed information about the investigation into Sun: “There’s an ongoing investigation, there’ll be court proceedings, maybe a trial – all this will be revealed but it’s not information I can divulge at this time,” she said.

Sun accused of influencing messaging

Sun acted as “an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government while her husband, Hu, facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in kickbacks for personal gain,” prosecutors said in a news release.

While working for state government, Sun influenced the messaging of high-level state officials regarding issues of importance to China, blocked Taiwanese government representatives from access to the officials, and obtained official New York State proclamations for Chinese government representatives without authorization, prosecutors alleged in the indictment.

The couple’s arrest comes at a time when US-China relations remain fraught over a host of frictions including Beijing’s aggressions in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan, and US trade controls targeting China.

CNN has reached out to the US State Department and the Chinese Embassy in Washington for comment.

An attorney for Sun, Jarrod Schaeffer, told CNN the charges “are inflammatory and appear to be the product of an overly aggressive prosecution.”

“We are also troubled by aspects of the government’s investigation. As we said today in court, our client is eager … to defend against these accusations in the proper forum – a court of law,” Schaeffer said.

A defense attorney for Hu, Seth DuCharme addressed reporters outside court Tuesday, saying, “We have a lot of confidence in our case.”

“A lot of the allegations in this indictment are frankly perplexing, overly inflammatory,” he said. “As you heard in court today, we are looking forward to our day in court. The defendants are exercising their right to a speedy trial as soon as they can; we have a lot of confidence in Chris and in Linda.”

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was unaware of the aide accused of working for China.

“I am not aware of the situation you mentioned,” spokesperson Mao Ning said, adding, “I will not comment on the domestic cases in the United States, but we oppose malicious associations and slander against China.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Yong Xiong and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.