Defense counsel for Linda Sun, the former gubernatorial aide who was accused of working as an agent of China, asked a federal judge to intervene ahead of a potential retrial of the case early next year to free up assets so the defendants can pay their lawyers.
The attorneys representing both Sun and her husband Chris Hu warned U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan of the Eastern District of New York at a status hearing on Wednesday that they will have to withdraw as the counsel unless the government relieves some of the assets it froze as part of the case.
“We’re in a spot where not only does the government seize assets but… the seizing of those assets is extremely questionable and it’s foreclosing the defendant from mounting a defense,” Nicole Boeckmann, Hu’s attorney. “I think the court can intervene and should intervene under these circumstances”
Cogan said he wasn’t willing to “lean on” the federal prosecutors to free up some assets, but wanted the parties to find a solution where the defense stays on.
“If we are going to try this case again, I would like there to be a way to keep the counsel who are so familiar with it and so efficient at it in place,” Cogan said.
Sun and Hu’s trial lasted for over a month and half before Cogan declared a mistrial when jurors could not agree on a verdict. During the conference call, Cogan set a tentative date for the retrial to begin on Jan. 18 of 2027, allowing for more time that defense asked for in the event that Sun and Hu need to bring on new counsel.
Defense has raised concerns about the extent of the frozen assets since before the trial started. Over the summer, defense attorneys had moved for what’s called a Monsanto hearing, a process where the defendant challenges the government’s freezing of assets needed to pay for legal counsel, but Cogan denied their motion for the hearing, citing case law that said a defense must first meet a threshold showing that the hearing is warranted.
During the conference, Cogan encouraged the defense to submit another motion for a Monsanto hearing to provide more evidence that proves Hu and Sun cannot fund their defense counsel of choice.
Boeckmann said the defense counsel was not paid throughout the duration of the trial, resulting in Seth Ducharme, the lead counsel for Hu, not being able to participate in the trial for financial reasons.
During the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Solomon made the argument that Sun and husband Hu allegedly leveraged their contacts within the Chinese government to acquire millions of dollars in business contracts and later returned the favor by keeping Taiwan away from the Governor’s office. They have argued that assets including three of the couples’ properties on Long Island, in Queens and in Hawaii, as well as cash, bank accounts and vehicles were all related to Sun’s conspiracy to act as a foreign agent.
Cogan left it that he would be happy to look at more evidence of the couples’ financial strain.
