Chinese businesswoman found guilty of lying to the Secret Service to enter Mar-a-Lago

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

last updated 11 September 2019

A Chinese businesswoman has just been found guilty of lying to the Secret Service in order to trespass at Mar-a-Lago, The Associated Press reports.

Yujing Zhang was arrested in March as prosecutors said she talked her way into President Trump's Florida club by falsely telling the Secret Service she was there to use the pool and then telling a receptionist she was there for a United Nations Friendship Event, even though prosecutors say she was aware this event was canceled. Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time. Zhang was carrying numerous electronics, including four cellphones and a laptop, and a device that can detect hidden cameras was found in her hotel room, per AP.

Wednesday's conviction came at the conclusion of a trial during which Zhang, who faces up to six years in prison for the two charges, represented herself and delivered a mere 20-second opening statement; jury selection was also delayed after Zhang said she wasn't given underwear. Although Zhang was found guilty, the trial "shed little light" on whether she "was a spy penetrating a place where the president regularly holds meetings or a tourist on the worst trip of her life," The New York Times writes.