WASHINGTON — Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are demanding that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul terminate all state funding for China-linked nonprofits that may have been involved in “election interference” in the Empire State, according to a letter obtained by The Post.
The New York gubernatorial candidate and House Judiciary Committee chairman called on Hochul Thursday to “terminate all state funding and special tax-exempt privileges to nonprofits with verified ties to the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] or its proxies.”
They also called for the Albany administration to “conduct a top-down review of all political appointees and staff for conflicts of interest with the CCP and other foreign countries.”
“We are concerned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is engaging in widespread political interference in your administration in the State of New York,” they wrote, citing reports by The Post and New York Times on Beijing’s election influence campaigns.
“As a senior Member of House Leadership and as Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, we are compelled to raise the alarm on how New York has become a national epicenter for CCP election interference, political intimidation, and systemic violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and numerous other federal laws.”
Of the more than 50 groups covered in the Times report, 19 of them were illicitly engaging in election activities despite their registered charity status.
“Many of these CCP-aligned groups operate under the guise of tax-exempt nonprofit charities. Yet, they have blatantly violated US law by engaging in campaign fundraising and endorsing political candidates, despite indicating ‘no’ to questions from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding political activity,” Stefanik and Jordan wrote.
One of those influence campaigns involved a Chinese intelligence agent who targeted a former congressional candidate who had taken part in the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations against the Beijing regime, according to the letter.
The agent worked with a private investigator to dig up dirt on the candidate — and even suggested that “violence would be fine” as an alternative to thwart the campaign.
“Beat him until he cannot run for election,” the CCP spy reportedly told the investigator at one point.
Another New York state senator was successfully defeated after attending a “pro-Taiwan reception.”
Linda Sun, a former deputy chief of staff to Hochul, also “blocked Taiwanese officials from having access to the governor’s office, eliminated references to Taiwan and Uyghurs from state communications and quashed meetings with Taiwanese officials, all in an effort to bolster Chinese government positions,” according to an indictment filed last year.
Sun also failed to register as a foreign agent for Beijing and allegedly steered “multi-million-dollar contracts to companies controlled by family members and friends,” according to an IRS counterintelligence special agent based in New York.
Sun is currently standing trial in Brooklyn federal court on charges of acting as a Chinese agent, visa fraud, and money laundering conspiracy, among other offenses.
“The message is clear: If you cross Beijing’s red lines, your political career in New York ends,” Stefanik and Jordan warned. “This is not just foreign interference; it is reshaping the political landscape of New York under your failed watch.”
The Post’s report also cited how TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, amplified content supporting socialist New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani while “suppressing” content for his opponent, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The GOP lawmakers have asked for records on the Hochul administration’s “criteria” for awarding “state grants or access to elected officials” and the “enforcement actions taken” by the Democratic governor “to mitigate the threat of CCP malign influence and interference activities in New York.”
“New York’s elections belong to the people of New York,” Stefanik and Jordan concluded, “not the CCP.”
Reps for Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
