This “long shot” fell way short.
Embattled city Comptroller John Liu suffered another setback yesterday when two of his key fund-raisers charged with fraud saw their motions to suppress certain evidence and dismiss the case slapped down by a federal judge.
Liu campaign treasurer Jia “Jenny” Hou moved to suppress specific e-mail evidence against her, while fund-raiser Xing Wu “Oliver” Pan moved to dismiss the federal charges against him.
Both are charged with steering illegal “straw donor” contributions into Liu’s political war chest.
But Manhattan federal Judge Richard Sullivan denied all four of their motions.
“This is a court of law, not a psychiatrist’s couch,” said Sullivan, interrupting Pan’s defense attorney, Irwin Rochman. “You’re telling me I should be relying on this squishy stuff in the pit of my belly. I was hoping you’d have more legal arguments here.”
Outside court, Rochman explained. “We thought it was a long shot, but it was important to get these facts before the court,” he said.
Hou spoke in court only once, when a prosecutor mispronounced her name as “Who.”
“Yes, it’s ‘Hou!’ ” she called out.
Sullivan also denied Hou’s motions to sever her case from Pan’s.