A former aide to two New York governors, who already faces charges for allegedly working as a Chinese foreign agent, is being accused of profiting from a COVID-era kickback scheme involving face masks. Linda Sun, who worked for Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, and husband Chris Hu allegedly made millions by steering multiple state contracts to Chinese-based vendors for COVID equipment. “While Americans were locked down and desperate for PPE, Linda Sun and Chris Hu cashed in – allegedly lining their pockets while serving CCP interests,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “This is corruption that endangered lives. The FBI will not tolerate public officials who sell out their country,” he added. While Americans were locked down and desperate for PPE, Linda Sun and Chris Hu cashed in – allegedly lining their pockets while serving CCP interests. This is corruption that endangered lives. The FBI will not tolerate public officials who sell out their country. pic.twitter.com/U1MlBi5klE — FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) June 27, 2025 More info from the New York Post: One of the companies was run by Hu, 40, and his business partner, and the other was operated by Sun’s second cousin, but the staffer never disclosed the personal ties, according to prosecutors. Sun, 41, even allegedly doctored documents that showed the two companies were recommended by Chinese officials. Her husband is accused of keeping track of the expected ill-gotten proceeds on a spreadsheet under the title “Me.” US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella assailed Sun, of Manhasset, for enriching herself when the state “was at its most vulnerable at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.” “When masks, gloves, and other protective supplies were hard to find, Sun abused her position of trust to steer contracts to her associates so that she and her husband could share in the profits,” he said in a statement. A lawyer for Sun said his client “vehemently denied” Thursday’s charges. “The newest allegations continue the government’s trend of making and publicizing feverish accusations unmoored from the facts and evidence that we expect will actually come out at trial,” said attorney Jarrod L. Schaeffer. Sun was arrested by federal agents in September 2024 for allegedly acting as an undisclosed agent of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party. BREAKING: Former Aide To New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Charged With Acting As An Agent Of The Chinese Government The Associated Press noted: A naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, Sun used her homeland ties to help New York wrangle PPE from the country where much of it was made even as exports had dwindled because of China’s own battle with the virus. Sun connected the state with vendors the Chinese government recommended. But, according to the indictment, she also forged documents to falsely claim that Chinese contacts had suggested two additional companies. One was run by a second cousin of Sun’s, and the other by a business associate of her husband’s, the indictment said. Sun didn’t disclose those relationships to New York’s government, which signed contracts with both companies in March 2020 and went on to pay them over $44 million in all, according to the indictment. The cousin funneled about $2.3 million back to Hu, the indictment said. It doesn’t specify whether Hu’s associate allegedly paid anything.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Sinaloa drug cartel reportedly employed a hacker to surveil FBI informants, with the intent of enabling targeted murders.

Canada reversed its decision to implement a digital services tax, with officials citing expectations of a mutually beneficial and comprehensive trade agreement with the United States, according to a statement released by Ottawa on Sunday night, just one day before the tax was set to take effect.

CNN is reportedly promoting an app called ICE Block that tells illegal aliens where ICE agents are. The creator is absurdly claiming that sending illegal aliens home is like Nazi Germany. Partial clip: He already has 20,000 users.  There is no way to find out who went on to the app. The inventor claims it’s […] The post CNN Promotes an App Endangering ICE Agents appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is facing accusations of lying under oath to Congress last week after denying the central bank’s $2.5 billion headquarters renovation would include lavish amenities like private dining rooms and special elevators, despite planning documents revealing precisely those features. Government planning documents reviewed by the Senate Banking Committee, first revealed by the New York Post, directly contradict Powell’s claims, specifically mentioning “private dining rooms” and a “Governors’ private elevator,” as well as “vegetated roof terraces” for “urban wildlife and pollinators.” “There’s no VIP dining room, there’s no new marble. There are no special elevators,” Powell claimed under oath on Wednesday. “There are no new water features, there’s no beehives, and there’s no roof terrace gardens.” Powell’s testimony directly contradicts government planning documents that have not been revised since their approval in 2021. “The private dining rooms on Level 4 (of the Fed’s Eccles building) will be restored,” reads one excerpt from the filing with the National Capital Planning Commission. “The Governors’ private elevator will be extended to discharge at the dining suite level.” According to the Post, the filing also explicitly mentions “vegetated roof terraces” featuring “urban wildlife and pollinators” in addition to new marble and water features. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), chair of the Senate Banking Committee, branded the renovations “luxury upgrades that feel more like they belong in the Palace of Versailles.” JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free Powell dismissed the price tag for the revamp, which exceeded the original estimate of $1.9 billion by 30%, saying in Wednesday’s hearing that “the cost overruns are what they are.” Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), a majority member of the committee, said Powell “was clearly not prepared for his testimony, and should be embarrassed.” “He made a number of factually inaccurate statements to the Committee regarding the Fed’s plush private dining room and elevator, skylights, water features, and roof terrace,” Lummis told the Post. “This is typical of the mismanagement and ‘don’t bother me’ attitude that Chair Powell has always shown.” Andrew T. Levin, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College who served as an economist and advisor to the Fed’s board for 20 years, called for congressional action, slamming Powell in a statement to the Post. “A top Fed official cannot be permitted to make false statements under oath at a congressional hearing. Such statements must be promptly corrected, and in egregious cases, subject to censure by the Senate,” Levin said. Former Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk previously called the news about the Fed’s headquarters revamp “an eyebrow raiser” and suggested the department should investigate the spending. The controversy arises as the Fed grapples with mounting financial losses totaling $233 billion over the past three years, including a record $114.6 billion loss in 2023 — the first time in its history that the central bank has operated in the red. Powell, whose term as Fed Chair ends in May 2026 unless renominated by President Trump, is facing scathing criticism from the president over the central bank’s refusal to cut interest rates, adding to the mounting pressure on the embattled Fed Chair.

Lawmakers in the GOP-led Congress are racing to pass the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” in order to get it to President Donald Trump’s desk by his July 4 deadline — Friday. Can it be done? Yes, but the timeline is extremely tight. The legislation, which spans more than 900 pages, aims to fulfill many of Trump’s spending and tax-cut goals for his second term. While it did narrowly pass out of the House in late May, provisions in the bill have undergone a makeover, in part because the Senate parliamentarian ruled that certain sections flagged by Democrats violated the Byrd Rule, which demands they stay focused on the budget. Republican senators worked through the weekend to get the bill close to the finish line. They voted to begin consideration of the legislation before Democrats asked the clerks to read the entire package, which took roughly 16 hours. By Monday afternoon, senators were in the midst of a “vote-a-rama” for amendments that might last all day. A final vote could happen sometime before or after midnight. With the expectation that the Senate manages to pass the bill — an outcome that would require only a simple majority because it is being considered through the budget reconciliation process that allows the upper chamber to bypass the filibuster — the House is gearing up to do its part. House Rules Committee members were reportedly advised to prepare for a noon meeting on Tuesday. If the panel is able to pass a rule for consideration of the bill, the full House will come into play. However, there will likely not be a quick final vote. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said last week that he would honor the customary 72 hours to allow members three days to review the text of the legislation. He also conceded that it is “possible” the bill’s timeline may slide past July 4. Ultimately, the process could come down to a Friday showdown on the House floor. The bill’s fate is unclear as negotiations were still underway as of press time. Any last-minute changes threaten to add more time as they would need to be approved by both chambers of Congress. Trump sounded optimistic overnight, saying in a post on Truth Social, “ONE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL, is moving along nicely! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

President Donald Trump is expected to visit Florida’s new illegal alien detention facility, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” after protesters descended on the site over the weekend. Construction began on the site — which Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier called “an old, virtually abandoned airport facility right in the middle of the Everglades” — earlier this month. According to a statement by Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin, the costs of construction will be paid in part by a Biden-era FEMA program originally used to house illegal aliens in upscale hotels. Uthmeier proposed the site in response to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s crackdown on illegal aliens, which has led to a record number of arrests. He says the site “is ideal because of its surrounding area. It’s a low-cost, already developed 30 square mile area surrounded by the Everglades.” Trump is expected to tour the facilities on Tuesday, at which point the facility should be fully operational. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the trip in a briefing Monday, saying the president was visiting to “underscore the need to pass the Big, Beautiful Bill,” which she said will help fund the construction of much-needed detention facilities. Alligator Alcatraz will reportedly hold 5,000 illegal immigrants as they await deportation from the on-site runway. Amenities at the site include beds, laundry facilities, air conditioning, and medical care — the same Florida uses for hurricane relief, according to DeSantis. Still, critics have slammed the facility as inhumane. “Anyone who supports this is a disgusting excuse for a human being, let alone a public servant,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL). On Saturday, demonstrators lined the highway between Miami and the facility to protest its construction. In addition to claiming the facility is inhumane, they object to its location in the Everglades, which they say will harm the local ecosystem as well as the nearby Native American community. The Center for Biological Diversity and the Friends of the Everglades have filed a lawsuit to stop construction at the site. These groups claim that the new project bypasses existing environmental laws and threatens the Everglades’ ecosystem. “This scheme is not only cruel, it threatens the Everglades ecosystem that state and federal taxpayers have spent billions to protect,” said Eve Samples, the executive director of Friends of the Everglades. “This is a lazy lawsuit,” McLaughlin said in response. “This land has been developed for over a decade now, so these environmental concerns have been fully handled by the State of Florida.” DeSantis echoed this statement in a press conference Monday, saying, “I think people are just trying to use the Everglades as a pretext for the fact that they oppose immigration enforcement.” “We have the president of the United States coming down tomorrow to tout what Florida has done,” DeSantis said. Leavitt confirmed DeSantis’s statement and added that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem would also tour the site. Leavitt praised DeSantis’s construction of the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility, which she said was a testament to Trump’s devotion to deporting criminal illegal aliens.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials say CNN has endangered the lives of federal agents after the news network promoted an iPhone app used to “track ICE activity in real time” in an article published on Monday. Called ICEBlock, CNN noted that the app encourages users to report ICE sightings and pinpoint the locations of federal agents to help illegal aliens avoid arrest. “Users can tap the map to report an ICE sighting in their area, and then everybody who uses the platform within five miles of that sighting will get a push alert,” a CNN reporter said before adding that the application’s users remain anonymous. ?NEW—CNN pushes new app “ICEBlock” meant to “track ICE activity in real time,” alerting illegal aliens before they are detained and deported. The app is completely free and anonymous to use. pic.twitter.com/f142PBR9Bo — Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 30, 2025 The app reportedly has more than 20,000 users. The developer behind it describes the platform as an “early warning system.” ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons slammed CNN, accusing the outlet of putting the lives of federal law enforcement agents at risk. “CNN’s promotion of an ‘ICE spotting’ app is reckless and irresponsible,” Lyons charged. “Advertising an app that basically paints a target on federal law enforcement officers’ backs is sickening.” JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free “CNN is willfully endangering the lives of officers who put their lives on the line every day and enabling dangerous criminal aliens to evade U.S. law,” he went on to add. “Is this simply reckless ‘journalism’ or overt activism?” During Monday’s White House briefing, Daily Wire reporter Mary Margaret Olohan asked Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about CNN’s promotion of ICEBlock. .@MaryMargOlohan asks @PressSec about CNN’s promotion of “ICEBlock”, an app that tells you where ICE agents are: LEAVITT: “It’s unacceptable that a major network would promote such an app that is encouraging violence against officers who are trying to keep our country safe.” pic.twitter.com/Bkd8RpJYqJ — Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) June 30, 2025 “It sounds like this would be an incitement of further violence against our ICE officers,” said Leavitt.  “It’s unacceptable that a major network would promote such an app that is encouraging violence against law enforcement officers who are trying to keep our country safe.” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin also warned that the app is “absolutely obstructing justice” in a climate where federal agents are often vilified. “Our ICE enforcement officers are seeing a 500% increase in assaults against them, and a lot of this is because politicians like AOC, like Governor Tim Walz, like Gavin Newsom demonize our ICE enforcement officers and give them free passes,” McLaughlin charged.