FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ The strange case of a Chinese woman charged with lying to get into Mar-a-Lago took a bizarre twist Tuesday when Yujing Zhang told a federal judge that she wants to represent herself.
"I don't need the attorneys, thank you," she told a U.S. District Judge Roy Altman. "I want to represent myself."
Altman told Zhang "you really, really need a lawyer," and noted that she has been indicted on serious charges.
That led to an awkward exchange between Zhang and the judge.
Zhang expressed surprise that she was indicted on charges of lying to get into Mar-a-Lago on March 30 when President Donald Trump was visiting.
"I'd like to know when this indictment was issued," she asked through a Mandarin interpreter.
Altman told her it was issued April 12 and then read the charges.
"You told me today and I hear what you said," Zhang replied.
Zhang was in court after her attorneys asked to delay her trial, which is scheduled for next week.
Altman said he was likely to grant the request for the delay, but frowned on Zhang's request to represent herself.
"I strongly urge you not to represent yourself," Altman told Zhang.
She responded: "I want to represent myself."
Altman then repeatedly urged Zhang to reconsider her decision to represent herself.
"You understand, I've been a lawyer for a long time and I think this is a very bad decision?" he asked her.
"I understand," Zhang replies, "but I hope I can have this opportunity."
Altman also offered to appoint new attorneys to represent her.
The hearing in federal court was supposed to have been a brief appearance requested by Zhang's attorneys to ask for a delay in the trial date.
Assistant public defender Kristy Militello had said the documents she needs to review are not only voluminous, but many are written in Mandarin, Zhang's native language.
"As a result, undersigned counsel cannot decipher the complex discovery without the aid of an interpreter," she wrote in a motion seeking the delay. "As such, undersigned counsel is in need of additional time to review the discovery, which is only in very preliminary stages at this point."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rolando Garcia did not object to the request.
Zhang was charged with making false statements and unlawful entry into restricted grounds in March after U.S. Secret Service agents claim she lied to get into the club, which was in a "protective zone" because Trump was visiting. She faces a maximum five-year prison sentence.
At a previous hearing, Garcia described the wealthy investment consultant as a pathological liar. While she told agents she wanted to use the club pool, she was carrying four cellphones, a laptop, an external hard drive and a thumb drive but no bathing suit, Garcia said.
Later, after club officials determined Zhang wasn't a member of the club, agents discovered roughly $8,000 cash, another cellphone, nine USB drives, five SIM cards and a device that can be used to detect hidden cameras in her room at The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, he said.
After hearing the evidence, a federal magistrate said he believed Zhang was "up to something nefarious" and ordered her to be held without bond.
Militello claims Zhang didn't pretend to be a member of Mar-a-Lago. Instead, Zhang arrived at the club March 30 to attend an event where Trump's sister, Elizabeth Trump-Grau, was to be the honored guest, she said. Zhang had paid a Chinese businessman $20,000 to travel from Shanghai to Palm Beach for the event and didn't know it had been canceled, Militello has said.
The businessman, Charles Lee, is connected to Cindy Yang, the former owner of a Jupiter day spa where New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is alleged to have solicited prostitution. Yang, who lives in Wellington, and Lee both peddled travel packages, promising access to Trump and other top government officials.
While Zhang claims she didn't know the event had been canceled, an analysis of her cellphone showed Lee had alerted her before she left Shanghai, Garcia said.
Organizers said they called off the gala that was to benefit a Palm Beach Gardens children's charity after realizing it had been hijacked by Yang. She posted a flier on her website that featured photos of Mar-a-Lago and Trump-Grau and invited people to call "Cindy" at a Palm Beach County phone number for information about it.
Zhang told agents she hoped to meet members of Trump's family to discuss economic relations between China and the United States.
