Chinese businesswoman found guilty of breaching Mar-a-Lago security

A photo of Yujing Zhang was captured from her social media account.

The Florida jury took only four hours to reach a guilty verdict for the Chinese businesswoman who trespassed at Mar-a-Lago, while Donald Trump and his family were visiting the resort. 

Yujing Zhang, 33, was found guilty of trespassing at the Trump-owned resort and lying to Secret Service agents.

The Shanghai business consultant, who acted as her own attorney in the Fort Lauderdale federal court after firing her public defenders last June, faces up to six years in prison when she is sentenced Nov. 22.

A Chinese citizen, Zhang Yujin, lied her way into Donald Trump's Florida resort last March 30 and was found to be carrying multiple phones, a laptop and a thumb drive that preliminary investigations suggested contained malware. That prompted a search of her hotel room where authorities found more than $7,500 in cash, multiple SIM cards and a signal detector used for finding hidden cameras.

Before she fired her public defenders, they said that she came to Mar-a-Lago believing there would be a dinner that evening for the United Nations group, part of a $20,000 travel package she had purchased from a man named “Charles” she only knew through social media. They pointed to a receipt Zhang received from Charles Lee, a Chinese national who promotes such events at Mar-a-Lago, and a flyer she had promoting it.

In fact, Zhang bought a ticket for a Safari Night charity gala originally on the calendar for that evening. But the event had been canceled a few days before. A message about the cancellation and her request for a refund was found on her cell phone so Zhang was well aware of the cancellation at the time, prosecutors argued.

Nevertheless, Zhang had already purchased a ticket to the US and continued on her visit with the alleged intention of visiting other parts of the US.

Before jury selection Monday, the Judge Roy Altman tried to change Zhang's mind as he did during every pretrial hearing since she fired her public defenders in June and urged her to let public defenders try the case. When he insisted that she answer with a simple "yes" or "no," she went into a long response in Mandarin. Altman cut her off before it could be translated. Zhang finally said she didn't want them.

Clearly losing patience with Zhang, Altman spoke to Zhang sternly Monday after she told him "I don't know why I am here" and said she wasn't prepared because she said she thought the trial had been cancelled.

"You know precisely why you are here," Altman told her. He has repeatedly accused her at previous hearings of "playing games."

Zhang primarily used a translator throughout the trial, but at one point told Altman she hadn't spoken Mandarin in months and was having a hard time following along.

"You speak Chinese - you are from China," Altman replied.

Zhang, who did not put on a defense, did declare her innocence during closing arguments, saying she had a contract to attend a United Nations friendship event between the United States and China at the Mar-a-Lago club. “I do think I did nothing wrong,” said Zhang, speaking in English. “I did no lying.”

During the trial, Zhang spoke occasionally in halting English and in Mandarin to raise an objection or ask U.S. District Judge Roy Altman a question about the government’s evidence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said towards the end of the trial that Zhang’s demeanor throughout her brief visit to Mar-a-Lago revealed that she was determined to get into the club, suggesting she was up to no good.

“It shows she was not a wandering tourist,” Sherwin said, “who fell into this situation by mistake.”

Zhang's arrest and conviction may shine a spotlight on lead to others who are connected to the complex web of business connections selling access to Trump, family members or Trump administration officials.

Lee, who allegedly was Zhang's contact for the cancelled event organized by the United Nations Chinese Friendship Association, which is not affiliated with the U.N.,  was photographed at least twice with Cindy Yang, a Republican donor and former Florida massage parlor owner who organized events at Mar-a-Lago. 

The web gets even more entangled because Yang, who allegedly peddled access to Trump family members and administration officials, is under investigation for possibly funneling foreign funds to the Trump campaign.

Cliff Li, executive director of the National Committee of Asian American Republicans, said a “messy” New York fundraiser for Trump in 2017 involving Yang led him to worry that his group could be used to worm foreign money into the president’s re-election campaign. He instituted new rules to distance the organization from Yang and prevent any appearance of foreign meddling.

Photos emerged showing Yang with Trump, his family and top Florida Republicans at private events inside the president’s resorts and other venues, but the White House said that Trump doesn't know Yang.

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