The FBI is investigating whether the Chinese are spying on President Trump at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, according to a new report.
The investigation originally centered on Li “Cindy” Yang, a South Florida business owner and Republican donor who has promoted events at Mar-a-Lago to Chinese business executives wanting access to Trump and his family, the Miami Herald reported Wednesday.
The counterintelligence investigation expanded after the Secret Service arrested a Chinese woman, Yujing Zhang, on Saturday at Mar-a-Lago after she allegedly lied to authorities about why she was there.
Zhang had two Chinese passports, four cellphones, a laptop, and a device containing malware when she briefly gained admission to the resort. Zhang originally told authorities she was there to swim but later changed her story.
Zhang appeared to be heading to an event advertised on social media by Yang when she was arrested, not realizing Yang had canceled her events after news coverage of Yang selling access to Chinese executives.
Authorities are now trying to determine what Zhang planned to do with the malware and whether she is linked to Chinese intelligence and Yang.
Zhang has not been charged with any espionage-related crimes. Yang has said she has no connections to the Chinese government or a relationship with Trump.
“Our client has stated that she does not know the woman who was arrested at Mar-a-Lago this weekend,” a spokeswoman for Yang said in a statement Wednesday.
Trump was golfing at another one of his properties in Florida at the time of the arrest.
