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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 11 september 2019

Prosecutor: Chinese woman lied to get into Mar-a-Lago

By TERRY SPENCER such event was scheduled,
Associated Press she alerted Secret Service
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. agent Sam Ivanovich.
(AP) — A Chinese business- “She was acting weird and
woman knew an event strange,” Grumaz said. “I
she planned to attend at did not know how she got
President Donald Trump’s into the premises.” She said
Mar-a-Lago club had Zhang went into the wom-
been canceled, but she en’s restroom at one point.
still wanted to get onto the At agents’ request, Grumaz
property and lied to Secret went in and said she found
Service agents repeatedly Zhang texting while pac-
to make that happen, a ing.
federal prosecutor told Ivanovich testified that
jurors during closing argu- Zhang was initially cooper-
ments Tuesday. ative, turning over two Chi-
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ro- nese passports and allow-
lando Garcia told the ing him to search her purse.
10-woman, two-man jury He said she also told him
that Yujing Zhang was told about the Chinese-Amer-
by her trip’s organizer al- ican friendship event and
most two weeks before said she had come early to
she left Shanghai in March take photos and familiarize
that the planned Chinese- herself with the grounds. He
American friendship event said that when he told her
had been canceled and In this April 15, 2019, file court sketch, Yujing Zhang, left, a Chinese woman charged with lying to no such event was sched-
she demanded her $20,000 illegally enter President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, listens to a hearing before Magistrate uled, she showed him an
be refunded, showing she Judge William Matthewman in West Palm Beach, Fla. invitation in Mandarin.
understood. Then when Associated Press He said Zhang eventu-
Zhang, 33, arrived at the lying to a federal agent. an event with Bill and Hillary Zhang stood out when she ally became aggressive as
club, she falsely told a Se- Jury deliberations will begin Clinton or with investor War- entered the club’s ornate agents examined her cell-
cret Service agent she was Wednesday morning. ren Buffett, though a photo lobby because she vio- phone and she was taken
there to use the pool, lead- During testimony earlier with him would cost an ad- lated rules by taking pho- to the Secret Service’s West
ing resort management to Tuesday, FBI linguist Cath- ditional $40,000, Chang tos and video, gawked at Palm Beach office.
believe she was the daugh- erine Chang testified that testified. Zhang declined the furnishings and wore Ivanovich testified that
ter of a member and admit text and voice messages and demanded her money a gray evening dress at 1 Zhang was carrying four
her, Garcia said. found on Zhang’s phone back from “Charles,” the p.m. She said she knows the cellphones, a computer
He said prosecutors had showed she signed a con- organizer whom she only members and most of their and other electronic gear,
proved that Zhang then tract for the trip with a Chi- knew through text commu- guests and they know not saying she feared it would
lied to another agent, tell- nese company in February nications. Zhang’s former to take photos of the lobby be stolen if she left it in her
ing him she was there for to attend a March 30 event public defenders believe and are used to its furnish- hotel room. Ivanovich testi-
the friendship event she at Mar-a-Lago and get a the mystery man is Charles ings. Secret Service photos fied that agents later found
knew was not scheduled. photo with the president Lee, who ran the United showed it’s bedecked with $8,000 and electronic gear
“The United States scored or a Trump family member. Nations Chinese Friendship chandeliers, busts and intri- in her room, all out in the
a touchdown in this case,” Such events have been or- Association, which is not cate tile walls. open.
Garcia said. ganized by Chinese groups affiliated with the U.N. He Grumaz said Zhang tried to Hua Chunying said her
Zhang, who represented during the president’s term was photographed at least walk past her desk without government demands that
herself, gave a brief closing and the photos are seen as twice with Cindy Yang, a stopping, but she called the U.S. handle Zhang’s
argument, telling the jury a way to advance one’s Republican donor and for- her over before she could case “in a fair and proper
she paid to visit Mar-a-Lago career. mer Florida massage parlor enter another room. She manner according to law,
and “I did nothing wrong.” By mid-March, Zhang re- owner who organized Mar- said Zhang told her she and effectively protect the
She faces a possible six- ceived texts saying the a-Lago events. was there for the Chinese- safety and legitimate rights
year prison sentence if con- event was canceled, but Mar-a-Lago receptionist American friendship event. and interests of the Chinese
victed of trespassing and was told she could attend Ariela Grumaz testified that Grumaz said because no citizen involved.”q