A federal judge accused a Chinese woman charged with trespassing at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and lying to Secret Service agents of playing “games” with the court.
U.S. District Judge Roy Altman said Tuesday that Yujing Zhang “is apparently trying to play games with the court” as she appeared uncooperative during the hearing.
“The court will not allow the defendant to play games,” Altman said.
Altman rescheduled Zhang’s trial to begin Sept. 3 instead of next week, allowing her more time to prepare after she fired her public defenders, despite having no familiarity with the U.S. justice system.
Altman has tried to talk Zhang, 33, out of representing herself for months and has required her previous public defenders to attend her hearings in case she reverses her decision. She stood by her decision Tuesday, despite struggling to comprehend legal procedures.
During her hearing, Zhang appeared to be staring off into space, ignoring questions from Altman through a Mandarin interpreter, and told the judge she felt dizzy.
Zhang has pleaded not guilty to trespassing March 30 at the president’s Florida resort and lying to Secret Service agents about why she was at Mar-a-Lago. A judge denied her bail, saying she poses an “extreme risk of flight” if she is released from custody.
At the time of her arrest she was carrying two Chinese passports, four cellphones, a laptop, and a device containing malware. In a search of her hotel room, prosecutors found a device that could detect hidden cameras and more than $7,500 in cash were found.
Zhang originally told authorities she was at Mar-a-Lago to swim but later changed her story.
Zhang entered the United States legally on March 28, flying into Newark from Shanghai. Two days later she appeared at a Mar-a-Lago security checkpoint, telling security she was there to swim. Mar-a-Lago employees believed she was related to a member of the club and allowed her access to the property.
Shortly after she was asked by a receptionist why she was there. Zhang said she was there for “a United Nations Chinese American Association event later in the evening,” according to the criminal complaint, but the receptionist said there was no such event.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rolando Garcia said in April there was “no allegation” that Zhang was involved in “any espionage” and no charges have been brought against her under the Espionage Act.
However, prosecutors indicated they are building a national security case against her. A federal counterintelligence prosecutor requested to file “classified information” under seal in June.
Her case is reportedly part of an FBI investigation into whether the Chinese are spying on Trump.
