Chinese woman arrested in Mar-a-Lago pleads not guilty



[ad_1]

Chinese woman arrested in Mar-a-Lago accused of lying

Yujing Zhang, the Chinese woman arrested on March 30, 2019 for the purpose of entering the private club of President Donald Trump, in Palm Beach, is accused of making false statements to federal agents and to 39, having entered a restricted area illegally.

Yujing Zhang, the Chinese woman arrested on March 30, 2019 for the purpose of entering the private club of President Donald Trump, in Palm Beach, is accused of making false statements to federal agents and to 39, having entered a restricted area illegally.

More from the series


Trump Tourism: Access for sale

The Miami Herald is investigating how US President Donald J. Trump has become the prime target of a little-known Chinese industry that peddles access to the rich and powerful. Cindy Yang, former owner of an Asian day spa, who sold access to Mar-a-Lago and the White House, is at the center of this "asset tourism", which which raises concerns about national security. Read more:

Expand all


A federal judge on Monday ordered the detention of Yujing Zhang, the Chinese woman arrested while she was trying to enter the private club of President Donald Trump, Mar-a-Lago.

"It would seem to the court that Ms. Zhang was planning something bad," Judge William Matthewman told West Palm Beach federal court, adding that he considered Zhang, 33, to be at risk of absconding. believed that she would return to China. if released before the trial.

Matthewman said that the weight of the evidence against Zhang – who pleaded not guilty Monday for making false statements to federal officers and entered restricted places – is "rather powerful". Prosecutors had asked to keep her under lock and key.

Although no allegations of espionage were made against Zhang, the federal prosecutor Rolando Garcia said that new charges were still possible. The FBI treats his case as a national security affair, sources at the Miami Herald said. His arrest raised questions about security at Mar-a-Lago – and whether foreign opponents might seek to enter the president's club in Palm Beach.

Zhang was arrested in Mar-a-Lago on March 30. She said that she was present to attend an event and that she was carrying what the US secret service described as a USB stick containing a "malicious program", as well as several other electronic devices.

At Monday's hearing, prosecutors acknowledged that the malware may have been a "false positive". Mr. Garcia said the new findings were based on an analysis of the USB drive made by the FBI, which did not yield the same results as an earlier analysis of the Secret Service.

During the previous test, the USB key was inserted into a computer and the file download started automatically, what a secret service agent described as unusual during a court testimony the week last. The USB drive did not start downloading files during subsequent FBI analysis, Garcia said. The tests are in progress.

Matthewman on Monday asked Garcia how close Zhang was to a Mar-a-Lago computer.

Garcia replied: "At hand" from a computer in the club's home area.

Garcia also revealed that Zhang's iPhone messages showed that on March 26, an event organizer had learned that the Mar-a-Lago gala had been canceled two days before his departure from the China for the United States, information reported by the Herald.

Matthewman stated that his order to detain Zhang was based on the fact that she had been introduced to the event knowing that it had been canceled, as well as on the number of electronic devices in his possession. He also pointed out that the defendant had the financial means to flee "if she chose to do so" and that she had no family ties with the United States, which did not have a treaty extradition with China.

Zhang's federal public defenders said at the hearing that her arrest was a language-based misunderstanding.

If an interpreter had been present in Mar-a-Lago, "we would not be here today," said lawyer Kristy Militello.

Militello and his co-counsel, Robert Adler, stated that the evidence was not overwhelming and that there was no recording of his responses to the initial interrogation after his arrest. They offered a $ 250,000 bond that would be co-signed by Zhang's father.

A federal grand jury found a probable cause Friday of lying to the secret services about the reasons for his arrival at Mar-a-Lago. She is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail.

On Monday, Zhang wore the blue uniform of a detainee, handcuffs attached to a waist chain and ankles chained as well. She seemed to speak English to her lawyers, although they sometimes consulted a mandarin translator appointed by the court. If found guilty of both counts, she could be sentenced to six years in prison and fines of up to $ 350,000.


Short tirage.jpeg

Presentation to Yujing Zhang's court during his pre-trial detention hearing on Monday, April 8.

Shortly after noon on March 30, Zhang was shaken by a US secret service checkpoint in Mar-a-Lago after declaring that she wanted to go to the pool, according to a criminal complaint. The staff at Mar-a-Lago granted him access because his last name – one of the most common in China – was the same as that of a club member, said the complaint. She was arrested only after telling a receptionist and then a secret service agent that she was present to attend a "United Nations Friendship Event", which was not on the Mar calendar. -a-Lago.

Secret Service agents discovered that she carried a wide variety of electronic products: four cell phones, a laptop, an external hard drive and a USB key. A search of his hotel room at the Palm Beach Colony brought to light more electronic components, including a device used to detect hidden cameras and more than 8,000 US and Chinese dollars. At a previous hearing, she had told the court that she was a financial investor and a consultant from Shanghai, and that she owned a $ 1.3 million home and a BMW.

Zhang was charged on Friday for making a false statement to a federal officer and entering restricted areas.

Since the end of last year, an FBI counterintelligence team has been investigating possible Chinese spy operations in South Florida targeting President Trump, sources told The Herald. Zhang's arrest put this investigation on overdrive. Authorities have recently focused on Li "Cindy" Yang, owner of a massage parlor in South Florida, and on his company selling access to the president. Yang had used Chinese social media to promote the Mar-a-Lago event that Zhang wanted to attend. The event was a benefit of "Safari Night" for a local youth charity co-organized by Trump's sister, Elizabeth Trump Grau.

On Monday, prosecutor Garcia revealed that Zhang had been informed of the cancellation of the event by Charles Lee, a Chinese businessman who had been promoting events in Mar-a. -Lago with Chinese customers with Yang. Lee runs a company called the Chinese Friendship Association of the United Nations. Lee was recorded on Zhang's phone as "United Nations Charles". She donated $ 20,000 to her company for a travel package that included assistance at the Mar-a-Lago event, according to a defense receipt.

Through a spokesperson, Yang said that she had done nothing wrong and that she did not know Zhang.

Yang had also planned to attend a fundraiser for Trump in Mar-a-Lago organized by the Republican National Committee. But she decided not to sue after the Herald and other media published articles about her political activities and counseling, including a seflie she had with the president. An RNC official said Yang was reimbursed $ 5,600 on March 8 after being reimbursed.


CindyandthePresident.jpg

Li 'Cindy' Yang poses with President Donald Trump at a fundraiser in Mar-a-Lago on March 3, 2018. She received a signed photo. An event flyer announced a "reception, photo and two dinner seats with President Trump" for a $ 50,000 donation.

National security experts have been asking about vulnerabilities in Mar-a-Lago since the election of President Trump. But Zhang's arrest is the first major violation reported. Last week, the White House announced that the director of the secret service, Randolph "Tex" Alles, would leave his post, although a Trump administration source said the departure of Alles was not related to the arrest of Zhang.

Nevertheless, the leader of the Senate minority, Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said that Alles should testify before Congress about the incident and more general security concerns.

"The public and Congress need to know to what extent opposing governments – like China – and their agents are trying to access conversations or other information about national security on the president's property Trump, or monitor them electronically, "Schumer said at a statement.

In February, a Miami federal judge imposed a maximum one year sentence on a Chinese student who was caught by the Key West police and raped the high security air base. Investigators soon learned that he was taking photos and videos of the military base with his smartphone and digital camera.

Zhao Qianli, 20, told FBI agents that he was a student of musicology from China and had gone to the United States as part of a program of exchange. summer. He stated that during his visit to Key West at the end of September, he was stranded on the tourist trail without knowing that he had gone to the military base. He later pleaded guilty to taking pictures of defense facilities located at the military base.

Qianli's sentencing and conviction follows a recent CNN report that US intelligence officials have warned that China is recruiting some of its students to the US to spy on the Beijing government for the purpose. gather information on business, technology and science.

Sarah Blaskey covers local governments in the municipalities of Miami-Dade County. She is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism and has just received a Pulitzer Center scholarship for her work on shark fishing and human trafficking in Central America.


Caitlin Ostroff is a reporter for McClatchy's Miami Herald office. It uses data analysis and coding to present and log information as part of the investigation team.


[ad_2]

Source link