Trump says he's 'not concerned at all' about the security breach at Mar-a-Lago. The FBI is reportedly worried.
On Saturday, while President Trump was golfing four miles away, a Chinese national named Yujing Zhang talked her way into Mar-a-Lago, Trump's private club in Florida, with two passports, four cellphones, and a thumb drive infected with "malicious software." She told the Secret Service she was going to use the pool, even though she didn't have a swimsuit; a Mar-a-Lago staffer told the Secret Service to let her in because a member has the same last name. Asked about this breach on Wednesday, Trump said he's "not concerned at all."
"We have very good control," Trump added. "I think that was just a fluke situation."
The FBI is apparently less sanguine. Zhang's breach "turbo-charged" a federal counterintelligence investigation into Chinese or other nations targeting Trump and Mar-a-Lago, the Miami Herald reported Wednesday. The Secret Service has two tasks at Trump's moneymaking vacation hangout, The Washington Post notes: Protecting the president, and keeping the hundreds of members and paying or invited guests happy. Mar-a-Lago staff, not the Secret Service, decides who's allowed into the resort, and agents say they have no system to track who enters or speaks with Trump.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The president has no idea who most of the people around him at the club are," a White House official tells the Post. "You pay and you get in." This setup is a potential gold mine for foreign intelligence, even if no spy ever made contact with Trump, the Post adds. "It could be bugged, or its computers hacked, if someone could get in the door."
"The surprise would be if Chinese and Russian and other adversarial governments were not trying to get into Mar-a-Lago and the president's other properties," Peter Harrell at the Center for a New American Security tells the Miami Herald. But authorities aren't sure about Zhang's motives. The electronics and malware are suspicious, but it's also possible she believed she was invited, lured to Mar-a-Lago by advertisements promising access to Trump and his family from Trump donor and day spa owner Li "Cindy" Yang.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
'Making a police state out of the liberal university'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
8 looming climate tipping points that imperil our planet
The Explainer New reports detail the thresholds we may be close to crossing
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Try 6 free issues of The Week Junior
Spark your child's curiosity with The Week Junior - the award-winning current affairs magazine for 8-14s.
By The Week Published
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aid
Speed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claims
Speed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aid
Speed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picks
Speed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published