Mar-a-Lago resort intruder also had a device to detect hidden cameras

The woman from China arrested while carrying a USB drive containing malware at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort last month had another phone, nine USB drives, five SIM cards, and a device used to detect hidden cameras all stored in her hotel room, federal prosecutors have claimed. The New York Times reports that investigators also found several credit and debit cards and $8,000 in cash, including $700 in Chinese currency. The findings came to light during a bond hearing ahead of her trial.

The woman, Yujing Zhang, was charged with lying to a federal agent and gaining access to a restricted area at the Mar-a-Lago resort on March 30th. President Trump was residing at the resort that weekend, but was away golfing at the time of the arrest. Initially Zhang claimed she was there to use the pool but subsequently changed her story to claim she was there to attend an event. However, the event she described did not exist, and a search later revealed that she was not carrying a bathing suit.

Instead, Zhang was found to be carrying a host of electronic devices, including four cellphones, an external hard drive, a laptop, and a thumb drive containing malware. When a computer analyst tried to review this USB thumb drive he had to immediately shut down his computer to prevent it from being corrupted, according to a Secret Service agent who testified at the bond hearing. It was “very out of the ordinary,” said the agent according to CNN.

On the day she was arrested, Zhang told authorities that a man she had communicated with over WeChat called “Charles” had invited her to an event at the resort. This man is suspected to be Charles Lee, whose organization was due to run an event at Mar-a-Lago that was later cancelled. Later, at the bond hearing, Zhang’s defence attorney presented a receipt to the court which he claimed to show that she had wired $20,000 to an organization believed to be run by Lee.

The discovery of so much cash and technology in Zhang’s hotel room raises further questions about her initial responses to questioning by investigators. She had previously claimed that she was carrying multiple cellphones out of fear of leaving them back in her hotel room, where she had had no issue leaving thousands in cash.

It remains unclear exactly what Zhang was attempting to do while at the Mar-a-Lago resort. A Secret Service agent testified at the hearing to say that she was not carrying any lock-picking or eavesdropping gear. A separate report from The New York Times last year claimed that China and Russia regularly exploit poor security practices to tap President Trump’s phonecalls. Compromising the computer network of his Mar-a-Lago resort, where he regularly visits, would theoretically allow for further eavesdropping when Trump is not using a secured device.

At her bond hearing, prosecutors argued that Zhang is a “serious flight risk” who “lies to everyone that she encounters.” Her public defender said that she had not attempted to hide her multiple cellphones, and that the “the government has no reason to believe Zhang was a spy.” A decision on whether or not to release her on bond is due to be made on Monday.