Former Chinese presidential aide arrested

Chinese authorities have arrested a former presidential aide in a corruption investigation after expelling him from the ruling Communist Party, the government announced Monday.

Ling Jihua, 58, who worked for former President Hu Jintao, stands accused of accepting huge bribes, stealing party and state secrets, as well as keeping mistresses and trading power for sex, according to a statement posted on the website of the party's disciplinary arm.

From 2007 to 2012, Ling was the director of the Party's Central Committee's General Office under Hu -- a position often compared to the White House chief of staff -- making him an extremely powerful politician in China's one party-dominated political system.

(CNN)