The governor of New York said the Chinese consul general had been removed, but the State Department said there had been “no expulsion action.”

CNN
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When New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday that China's consul general in New York had been removed from his post after her former aide was accused of acting as an agent for the Chinese government, the U.S. State Department later said there had been “no expulsion action.”

The diplomat reached the end of his regular rotation period and left at the end of August, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a briefing on Wednesday.

However, a spokesman for the Chinese consulate general in New York said diplomat Huang Ping was “performing his duties as usual,” according to a statement to CNN on Wednesday, apparently contradicting comments from Hochul and the State Department.

At a news conference early Wednesday, Hochul said she spoke by phone with a senior State Department official about Huang Ping's status at Antony Blinken's request. Hochul spoke with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, Miller said.

Hochul said that during the phone call she “expressed my desire to expel the Consul General of the People's Republic of China from the New York Mission and was informed that the Consul General is no longer at the New York Mission.”

When asked if the consul general had been expelled, Hochul replied: “I know they are no longer in office. That's all I know.”

Miller said there was no expulsion: “The consul general was not expelled. To our knowledge, the consul general reached the end of his regular rotation in August and therefore had to leave office, but was not expelled.”

“But of course, when it comes to the status of certain staff members of a foreign mission, I would refer you to the country in question to speak with them there, but there has been no deportation 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 from the actions of the Department of Justice yesterday,” Miller added.

When asked about the consul general's involvement, Hochul said, “I believe that the behavior of the Chinese government in doing this and working with Linda Sun is not acceptable. It is a signal from us that we will not tolerate this. Anyone who represents this government must move on. We have made that clear.”

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

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

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

Hochul said Wednesday that she has been supporting the Justice Department for months and will continue to work with it.

She described Sun's actions as “an absolute breach of trust between two governments in the state government” and even went so far as to “forge my signature on documents”.

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

Hochul said Sun was a “mid-level assistant,” adding that she had “not had very much contact” with her and had “no real role in my policies” as governor.

The governor said she was “confident about our review process right now.”

“We conduct very rigorous background checks,” Hochul said.

The governor warned that she could not provide detailed information about the investigation into Sun: “The investigation is ongoing, there will be legal proceedings, perhaps a trial – all of that will come to light, but that is not information I can reveal at this time,” she said.

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

In the indictment, prosecutors alleged that while working for the state government, Sun interfered with communications with senior government officials on issues of importance to China, denied Taiwanese government officials access to those officials, and unilaterally obtained official New York State proclamations for Chinese government officials.

The couple's arrest comes at a time when relations between the US and China remain strained due to a number of frictions, including Beijing's aggression in the South China Sea and towards Taiwan, and US trade controls against China.

CNN has asked the US State Department and the Chinese Embassy in Washington for comment.

Sun's attorney Jarrod Schaeffer told CNN the charges were “seditious and appear to be the result of an overly aggressive prosecution.”

“We, too, are concerned about some aspects of the government's investigation. As we said in court today, our client is committed to defending himself against these allegations in the proper forum – a court of law,” Schaeffer said.

Seth DuCharme, a defense attorney for Hu, told reporters outside the courtroom on Tuesday: “We have great confidence in our case.”

“Many of the allegations in this indictment are frankly confusing and overly inflammatory,” he said. “As you heard in court today, we look forward to our day in court. The defendants are exercising their right to a speedy trial as soon as possible; we have great confidence in Chris and Linda.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it knew nothing about the adviser who was accused of working for China.

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

This story has been updated with additional information.