This story is straight out of a movie. It’s no secret that President Trump has upset the Chinese government by cutting off their free U.S. money flow and adding heavy tariffs to their sales, but a spy?
A Chinese woman recently arrested at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club lied repeatedly to Secret Service agents while carrying computer malware unlike anything a government analyst had ever seen and had more than $8,000 in cash at her hotel room, along with an electronic device that detects hidden cameras, federal authorities told a judge Monday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rolando Garcia told Magistrate Judge William Matthewman during a bond hearing that “there are a lot of questions that remain” about 32-year-old Yujing Zhang.
He said the FBI is investigating whether Zhang is a spy.
Zhang was arrested March 30 after Secret Service agents said shelied to gain admission to the president’s Palm Beach resort and was found to be carrying two Chinese passports, four cellphones, a laptop computer, an external hard drive and a thumb drive containing the malware.
when agents searched it, they found $7,620 in U.S. currency, another $663 worth of Chinese currency, numerous U.S. credit and debit cards, the device used to find hidden electronics and other computer gear, he said.
Secret Service agent Samuel Ivanovich told the judge that when an agency analyst uploaded the malware found on Zhang’s thumb drive, it immediately began installing on the analyst’s computer and corrupting its files.
“That was something that had never happened before,” Ivanovich told the judge. He said the analyst immediately shut down the computer to protect it. He said the malware’s ultimate purpose remains unknown.
When agents analyze suspicious devices that might contain malicious software, it is done in a controlled environment and not performed on a computer connected to any government networks, according to Secret Service officials.
Ms. Zhang’s assistant federal public defender, Robert Adler said his client had wired $20,000 to what he believes is Mr. Lee’s organization in order to visit Florida and have access to Mr. Trump’s family. He provided the court with a receipt, printed in Chinese, and said he plans to subpoena Mr. Lee to support his client’s story.
“What did she do that was wrong?” Mr. Adler said. “What she did was the equivalent of saying, ‘My name is Smith, I’d like to use the pool.’”
The judge postponed a decision on whether to release Ms. Zhang on bond until next Monday. Prosecutors said a more detailed indictment would be filed before then.