The corruption trial of a former aide and a donor to comptroller and Democratic mayoral hopeful John Liu continued Wednesday, with court action focusing on former Liu treasurer Jenny Hou.

A construction contractor testified that he reimbursed business associates for their 2011 donations to the Liu mayoral campaign. The defense says it was part of a plan to win a multi-million dollar contract from a Liu supporter, not to influence elections.

Meng “Thomas” Wang—who referred to Comptroller Liu as a Councilman— says he doesn't follow politics.

Prosecutors struggled to directly connect Hou to the contractor's illegal activities. Although Hou failed to identify the falsely filed contributions, neither Wang nor his assistant said she’d instructed them to do anything illegal.