PALM BEACH, Fla. _ Amid the mushrooming speculation surrounding Cindy Yang's ability to get into and sell access to President Donald Trump's closely guarded private clubs, Yang's attorney _ who is not a club member _ walked through the majestic wrought-iron doors of Mar-a-Lago on the evening of March 16.
Attorney Evan Turk, who described Yang as "another casualty, as a supporter of our president," gained entrance to the club like so many other non-members. He got a ticket to one of dozens of swank fundraisers hosted every year at Mar-a-Lago during Palm Beach's social season.
Although the walled club is seemingly impenetrable and membership dues and fees top $200,000, a quick perusal of social media reveals Mar-a-Lago as a porous party destination accessible to anyone with the right contacts or a few hundred dollars.
In the wake of the Yang scandal, Democratic leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees on Monday called for criminal and counterintelligence investigations into Yang's activities, including whether the White House vetted any donors or attendees at Mar-a-Lago events.
"China has frequently used non-traditional intelligence collectors and businesspersons to compromise targets," the leaders wrote in their request. "Although Ms. Yang's activities may only be those of an unscrupulous actor allegedly selling access to politicians for profit, her activities could also permit adversary governments or their agents to access these same politicians to acquire potential material for blackmail or other even more nefarious purposes."
Although the identity of Mar-a-Lago's members is a carefully guarded secret and the Secret Service claims not to keep lists of visitors, a quick search on Instagram for photos geotagged at Mar-a-Lago or with #maralago returns tens of thousands of posts, with many of the photos taken inside the club.
Among those posting: Royals, Russian celebs, hedge-funders, Fox News personalities and two Brits dubbed the "Bad Boys of Brexit" who caught the attention of investigators in the U.K. and special counsel Robert Mueller III probing Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election and Brexit vote.
It's not the first time presidential doings at Mar-a-Lago, dubbed the Southern White House by Trump and the West Wing staff, have garnered scrutiny. Government watchdogs have clamored for the release of visitor logs at the Palm Beach club along with lists of people getting access to the White House. There has also been consternation about Trump's tearing up of documents he reviews, which are legally protected as presidential papers, while he is in Palm Beach.
The uproar over Yang's Mar-a-Lago selfies, and the suspicions she may have used them to sell access, to the highest levels of the U.S. government again speaks to the potential conflicts arising from a president spending prolonged periods of time at a private residence that also doubles as a for-profit enterprise.
Getting access
Yang grabbed headlines in February after Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, and 24 other men were charged with soliciting prostitution at a day spa she formerly operated in Jupiter. Yang's case then exploded on March 10 when Mother Jones reported she operated another business _ selling access to the president, his family and top White House officials at Mar-a-Lago _ to Chinese business executives.
Until now, much of the concern about who has access to the president when he visits Mar-a-Lago has centered on club members and their guests. Trump routinely makes himself available to members and reportedly asks their advice and opinions.
Those concerns were realized in November when the Government Accountability Office said it would investigate the findings of a report by ProPublica that revealed three Mar-a-Lago members exerted sweeping influence over the administration' veterans policies. At the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the troika was known as "the Mar-a-Lago crowd," according to the report.
That level of access to the president by club members was among the reasons Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, sued the Secret Service, seeking visitors' logs to the White House, Mar-a-Lago and other Trump properties.
Getting in
There are two main entrances to Mar-a-Lago and three likely explanations for how individuals get access to the president's club: As a member; with a member; or buying a ticket to an event. Whether a member invited Yang to the club is not known. But social media posts that have surfaced since her story broke show her at events open to ticket holders.
That may have been how she got into the president's Super Bowl watch party at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Glossy, postcard-sized ads for the event with details on purchasing tickets were available at Mar-a-Lago's front reception and security desk in the days ahead of the game.
While some events at the club are invitation-only, others are open to those who can afford a ticket, which often cost between $500 and $1,000 each. Event details and ticket information is often included in the society calendar on the island's society paper, Palm Beach Daily News, also known as the Shiny Sheet.
Non-members who attend events at Mar-a-Lago are required to provide their name and drivers license number when they purchase a ticket. Invitations and event planners caution attendees to arrive at least an hour early for security sweeps.
Cars are often backed up for a half mile on the causeway to the club, waiting to be shepherded into a parking lot across from Mar-a-Lago, where Secret Service has set up a security check point.
Drivers and passengers must get out of their vehicles and are screened by an agent with a security wand. Bomb detection dogs sniff under the car's hood and trunk, while an agent with a round mirror on an extension pole examines the vehicle's undercarriage. From there, agents _ some with assault weapons _ direct cars into the back entrance of the club.
Another guard then gives directions to the main entrance, where attendees walk through a metal detector before entering the ornate foyer. While the physical security screening is rigorous, it is not known how _ or if _ background checks are done on those coming into the club.
The Mar-a-Lago selfie
On April 11, Andy Wigmore and Aaron Banks, the self-proclaimed "Bad Boys of Brexit," managed to get a few thumbs-up shots of themselves inside Mar-a-Lago. Wigmore wrote the men were scoping venues for a Royal Commonwealth Society fundraiser.
Banks is a wealthy British businessman and political donor who bankrolled Brexit politician Nigel Farage's campaign to leave the European Union. Wigmore is an associate and confidant of Farage _ a cult hero among Trump's anti-establishment base.
In 2016, Banks had forged ties with the Russian Ambassador in London and with Steve Bannon, a strong supporter of Brexit and then head of Trump's campaign, according to a report by the Washington Post. In August 2016, Banks and his fellow Brexiteers, including Farage, were invited to attend a fundraiser with Trump in Mississippi.
Investigators in the U.K. and with Special Counsel Robert Mueller III, who are now probing Russia' involvement in the Brexit vote and 2016 presidential elections, took note of efforts by Banks and the Brexiteers to simultaneously cultivate ties to Russian officials and Trump's campaign, according to the Washington Post.
In June, congressional Democrats also began examining the role of the Brexit leaders and whether they served as a conduit between the Kremlin and Trump' campaign after a whistleblower gave a cache of documents detailing Banks's interactions with the Russian ambassador to members of the House Intelligence Committee, according to the Washington Post report.
Also in the photo is John Bartley Boykin, International and Federal Affairs Advisor to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant. Two months before the photo was taken, a data firm owned by Banks and Wigmore signed a 48-month lease with the University of Mississippi Research Foundation.
This week, Mevlut "Hilmi" Cinar took down two Instagram posts from March 1 showing him in photos with Chris Ruddy, a friend of the president, Mar-a-Lago member and CEO of the conservative NewsMax Media, at Mar-a-Lago.
"Had a great time with Chris at Mar-a-Lago Club!!! Good company, nice conversations, cozy atmosphere!" Cinar wrote in the posts.
Cinar is vice president of the Niagara Foundation, an international non-profit founded by Fethullah Gulen, a 77-year-old Turkish Muslim cleric whose network the Turkish government considers a terrorist organization.
The foundation operates charter schools in the U.S. Three days after Cinar posted the photo to Instagram, first lady Melania Trump visited a Tulsa charter school linked to the Gulen movement, according to the Washington Post.
Turkish media and observers of the Turkish-U.S. relations were surprised that Melania Trump would visit a school identified with cleric Fethullah Gulen, according to the report. A spokeswoman for the first lady said the school was chosen because of its "excellent academics and commitment to character education. Their diverse staff and student body should be celebrated."
Gulen has lived in self-imposed exile in rural Pennsylvania since 1999 and is now a permanent U.S. resident. The State Department has raised concerns about his operations, but a number of federal investigations over the years have petered out with no charges.
The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Gulen of spearheading a failed coup in 2016 and has demanded the cleric's extradition from the United States, according to the report.
OdaTV in Turkey, a popular Turkish news source, took note of Cinar's visit to Mar-a-Lago under the headline: "Gulen's right arm is in Trump's private palace."
Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian politician and son of the country's far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, was a guest at the Trumpettes USA gala at Mar-a-Lago in February _ a pro-Trump event that Yang also attended.
The younger Bolsonaro was also photographed by Rabia Kazan at Mar-a-Lago, posing before a portrait of Trump. Kazan is president of the Middle Eastern Women's Coalition and the National Diversity Coalition for Trump. Kazan is a best-selling author of the book The Angels of Tehran about the legal prostitution system in Iran.
According to his social media accounts, Zahid F. Sarder Saddi, is "Foreign Advisor to The 3 Times Prime Minister Of Bangladesh" and a special envoy of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP.
However, according to news reports in Bangladesh, the BNP sacked after he reportedly circulated a fraudulent statement by the BNP's vice chair and forged the signature of six congressmen in January 2015, according to BDNews24.com.
Saddi has multiple arrests in the United States for fraud and forgery, including a case in Orlando that resulted in a four-month jail sentence in 2017, according to the report.
Royalty has also made the rounds at Mar-a-Lago.
During Trump's visit over President's Day weekend in February he met with Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia, according to a post by royalfamilyintheworld.
Prince Charles-Philippe Marie Louis of Orleans, a member of the French House of Orleans, and his family visited Mar-a-Lago over Easter weekend and managed to get a selfie with Trump.
Prince Charles of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro, his wife Camilla and their daughters visited Mar-a-Lago in March 2018 and also managed to get a selfie with the president.
Russian and eastern European celebs who have visited Mar-a-Lago include Russian guitar player Valeriy Dolgin with Svetlana Dolgina, Polish pop-singer Kasia Stankiewicz, and Polish actress and model Aleksandra Gintrowska.
Billionaire Stephen Hung, a Hong Kong investment banker who last year backed out a luxury hotel and casino deal that he once claimed would be the world's most luxurious, has visited the club.
And Fox News notables Jeanine Pirro, Lou Dobbs, Jesse Watters and Gina Loudon are also among the club's guests.
