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U.S. NEWS Friday 20 december 2019

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Latest Mar-a-Lago intruder

appears at first court hearing

By CURT ANDERSON Neither Trump nor his fam-
AP Legal Affairs Writer ily members were at Mar-
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. a-Lago when the incident
(AP) — The latest Chinese took place.
intruder at President Don- They are expected to ar-
ald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago rive by this weekend and
resort in Florida appeared spend the holidays there.
in court Thursday, with a In Bejing, Foreign Ministry
judge appointing a pub- spokesman Geng Shuang
lic defender as her lawyer said he was not familiar
In this Aug. 23, 2019, file photo, Paul Whelan, a former U.S. marine and ordering that she re- with the Lu case.
who was arrested for alleged spying in Moscow on Dec. 28, main in custody. “What I can tell you is that
2018, speaks while standing in a cage as he waits for a hearing Jing Lu, 56, is charged with the Chinese government
in a court room in Moscow, Russia.
Associated Press misdemeanor counts of always requires that Chi-
U.S. man jailed loitering or prowling and nese nationals overseas
resisting arrest without vio-
abide by local laws and
in Russia on spying lence. regulations and not en- This Wednesday, Dec. 18,
A judge granted $2,000
gage in any kind of illegal
charges loses job bail but ordered Lu to be activities,” he told report- 2019, booking photo provided
by the Palm Beach County
remain in custody because ers. Sheriff’s Office, in Fla., shows
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Federation's geopolitical she is in the U.S. on an ex- Lu’s arrest follows that in Jing Lu.
A Michigan man who has gamesmanship." The firing pired visa. March of Yujing Zhang, a Associated Press
been imprisoned in Russia "increases the strain on our The judge also issued an or- 33-year-old Shanghai busi-
on spying charges for near- family's ability to keep some der that Lu stay away from nesswoman, who gained September of trespassing
ly a year has lost his job with semblance of his former life Mar-a-Lago, located on access to Mar-a-Lago while and lying to Secret Service
an automotive parts suppli- ready for when he returns the wealthy Palm Beach carrying a laptop, phones agents and was sentenced
er in a corporate restructur- home," Whelan continued. barrier island. and other electronic gear. last month to time served.
ing, a move his brother has Paul Whelan, 49, started Palm Beach police say Lu That led to speculation she She is being held for depor-
denounced. with BorgWarner in January was confronted by the might be a spy, but she tation.
Paul Whelan was arrested 2017 and oversaw secu- private club’s security offi- was never charged with In another Mar-a-Lago
Dec. 28, 2018, in a Moscow rity at facilities around the cers at the club’s main en- espionage and text mes- trespassing case, a Univer-
hotel while visiting for a world. BorgWarner notified trance and told to leave, sages she exchanged with sity of Wisconsin student
friend's wedding. The Rus- Whelan's representatives but she returned to take a trip organizer indicated was arrested in November
sian government charged of his termination while he photos by walking down to she was a fan of the presi- 2018 after he mixed in with
him with espionage and remains in Russian custody, a service gate. dent and wanted to meet guests being admitted to
has repeatedly extend- Graham said. According to a police af- him or his family to discuss the club.
ed his detention while he Whelan spent about a de- fidavit, when security per- possible deals. He pleaded guilty in May
awaits trial on charges that cade cultivating friends sonnel approached, Lu Zhang was found guilty in and received probation.q
carry a sentence of up to and contacts in Russia, fled on foot and was even-
20 years. Whelan has de- building connections on a tually apprehended in the
nied the charges. social media platform with tony Worth Avenue shop-
Whelan, a Marine Corps men who have ties to the ping district in Palm Beach.
veteran, had been director military. Several of them When officers approached
of global security for Borg- said Whelan never seemed her, Lu “balled up her
Warner, based in Auburn sinister, merely someone hands into fists, crossed her
Hills, Michigan, but that role with an interest in Russia arms on her chest, began
was eliminated last Friday and a desire for pen pals. screaming ‘no, no, no’ and
in a corporate restructur- Whelan, of Novi, Michigan, pulling away from me,”
ing announced in April, also holds British, Irish and one officer wrote in the af-
BorgWarner spokeswoman Canadian citizenship. He fidavit.
Kathy Graham said. was born in Canada to Brit- After that, Lu was hand-
Whelan's twin, David Whel- ish parents. Congress has cuffed and taken into cus-
an, told The Detroit News demanded that the Rus- tody.
in an email Wednesday sian government present The affidavit says Lu refused
that his brother's health has evidence against Whelan to let investigators view the
been deteriorating and or release him. The U.S. Em- photos on her cellphone
that his life has "unraveled" bassy said requests to send and asked immediately for
as he became "collateral a doctor to examine him a lawyer, cutting off further
damage in the Russian have been rejected. q questioning.