MIAMI _ A federal prosecutor argued in court Monday that Yujing Zhang, the Chinese woman arrested trying to enter President Donald Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach last month, "lies to everyone she encounters" and said a search of her hotel room uncovered more than $8,000 in cash, as well a "signal detector" device used to reveal hidden cameras.
Prosecutors are treating the case as a national security matter and the FBI is investigating, sources familiar with the inquiry told the Miami Herald.
Zhang gave conflicting accounts of why she came to Mar-a-Lago on March 30, at one point saying she had been invited to attend a social event. But she was found to be carrying several electronic devices, including a thumb-drive containing "malicious malware," according to an affidavit filed by a U.S. Secret Service agent. That raised suspicions among federal investigators already probing possible Chinese intelligence operations in South Florida that she could be engaged in espionage.
"The preliminary analysis of her phones shows she was not there for an event at Mar-a-Lago," prosecutor Rolando Garcia said during a detention hearing at the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach.
Garcia also said the search of her Palm Beach hotel room uncovered $7,500 in U.S. hundred-dollar bills and $663 in Chinese currency, in addition to nine USB drives, five SIM cards and other electronics including the signal detector. In a hearing last week, Zhang told the judge that she typically brings cash with her on her trips to the United States but did not indicate that she had several thousand dollars.
Monday's hearing was held to determine if Zhang should be released on bond. A judge was expected to rule later Monday afternoon.
Zhang faces charges of lying to a federal officer and entering restricted property. She was carrying four cellphones, a laptop computer, an external hard drive and the thumb-drive when she was arrested at Mar-a-Lago. The incident has raised new concerns about security at Mar-a-Lago _ and whether foreign governments can use the president's private businesses to gain information. On Monday, CNN reported that Trump was removing the head of the Secret Service, Randolph "Tex" Alles, although a source told the news channel the ouster was not related to the Mar-a-Lago arrest.
Wearing a short-sleeved, navy-blue inmate uniform, Zhang glanced repeatedly at the crowd of news media that had gathered behind her for the hearing, chewing her bottom lip. Her hands were clenched in fists so tight they began to turn red. She appeared to speak in English with one of the attorneys representing her, although a court-appointed Mandarin interpreter was also present. When the hearing started, she began taking notes on a yellow legal pad.
Zhang's federal public defender, Robert Adler, pushed back on the idea that she was a spy.
"She did not have the type of devices that can be associated with espionage activities," Adler said.
Garcia, the prosecutor, replied that "there is no allegation (in the criminal complaint) she was involved in espionage ... all of this is irrelevant."
"That's good to know," Adler said.
Later, Garcia said he could not rule out more serious charges.
"There are a lot of questions that remain to be answered," he told federal magistrate Judge William Matthewman.
Investigators are still trying to determine the nature of the malware Zhang allegedly brought into the club, the sources told the Herald. It is not clear how much of a threat the malware posed and whether it was intended to gather information at the president's club or possibly to destroy an existing network or program.
Secret Service agent Samuel Ivanovich, who interviewed Zhang at Mar-a-Lago, testified at the hearing. He stated that when another agent put Zhang's thumb-drive into his computer, it immediately began to install files, a "very out-of-the-ordinary" event that he had never seen happen before during this kind of analysis. The agent had to immediately stop the analysis to halt any further corruption of his computer, Ivanovich said. The analysis is ongoing but still inconclusive, he testified.
Zhang entered the country through Newark Liberty International Airport on a tourist visa on March 28, according to prosecutors. The U.S. State Department has since revoked her visa.
A social media profile appearing to belong to Zhang shows she is a graduate of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. She held a securities license in China from December 2008 to January 2013, according to a Securities Association of China database.
Zhang was arrested March 30 after trying to enter Mar-a-Lago shortly after noon.
She got past an initial Secret Service checkpoint by saying she wished to use the pool, according to a criminal complaint. Club staff thought she was related to a club member. But a receptionist grew suspicious after Zhang said she had come to attend a "United Nations Friendship Event" between China and the United States. No event by that name was scheduled for that day. She also told the Secret Service that she had been invited by a Chinese friend named "Charles."
Zhang may have miscommunicated the name of the event she wished to attend: The Herald has reported that a Chinese national named Charles Lee runs a business promoting events at Mar-a-Lago under the auspices of a group called the United Nations Chinese Friendship Association. Lee worked to advertise the events on Chinese-language social media with Li "Cindy" Yang, the South Florida massage-parlor owner who ran a separate business that promised Chinese clients photos and meetings with Trump.
Yang had promoted events scheduled for Mar-a-Lago on the day Zhang showed up, including a "Safari Night" charity gala. But the functions had been canceled after the Herald first reported on Yang's access-selling business last month, including a selfie she took with Trump.
Prosecutors said there was no evidence Zhang had any communication with a man named Charles. Nor was there any indication that the United Nations event existed, Garcia said, adding that the real event that night had been canceled. The group promoting it had not advertised it as any kind of United Nations event, he said. In fact, the organization had taken the site down weeks before, he said. (The website for Yang's company, GY U.S. Investments, had been taken down after reporting from the Herald and other news organizations in March.)
Adler, Zhang's attorney, confirmed that "Charles" was Charles Lee. He seemed to try to poke holes in the government's case that Zhang had lied to the Secret Service and Mar-a-Lago security to gain access to the club. He asked Ivanovich, the Secret Service agent, if she had given a "definitive answer" that she was related to the club member.
"No, she did not," Ivanovich said on the witness stand.
He also said he conducted a 4 {-hour interview with Zhang at the Secret Service office in West Palm Beach. There was only video but no audio recording because Ivanovich said he did not realize the audio was not working.
Congressional Democrats have called for a counterintelligence investigation into Yang, whose activities have brought national scrutiny.
As it turned out, the FBI has been investigating possible Chinese espionage operations in South Florida since late last year, sources with knowledge of the inquiry exclusively told the Herald. Zhang's arrest has sent the counterintelligence probe into overdrive. The FBI Counterintelligence Division in South Florida is also now examining the activities of Yang. The investigation had originally focused on other Chinese nationals doing business in South Florida or traveling to the region. (In February, a Chinese student was sentenced to one year in prison after he was caught taking photos and videos at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Key West.)
A spokeswoman for Yang said she has done nothing wrong, has not been contacted by federal authorities and did not know Zhang, the alleged Mar-a-Lago intruder.
Trump was in South Florida during the security breach but was golfing away from Mar-a-Lago. Last week he called the incident a "fluke." But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CBS News it could be an example of "the threat that China poses, the efforts they're making inside the United States, not only against government officials but more broadly."
Prior to her arrest, Zhang stayed at the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, about two miles up the road from the president's club. The pastel-colored, boutique hotel hosts high-end clientele, including Meryl Streep, who stayed the weekend after Zhang's arrest, according to guests.
In an initial court appearance last week, she told a judge that she owned a $1.3 million home in China and drove a BMW, saying she worked as an investor and consultant in Shanghai. Zhang's arraignment _ where the charges against her will be presented _ is scheduled for next Monday.
