Chinese woman accused of Mar-a-Lago trespass angers judge

By TERRY SPENCER
August 20, 2019

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Chinese woman accused of trespassing at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and lying to Secret Service agents is frustrating the federal judge hearing her case as she ignores his questions and leaves him bewildered with her answers.

The woman, 33-year-old Yujing Zhang, is acting as her own attorney and faces up to six years in prison if convicted at her trial set to start in two weeks. But for the second straight pretrial hearing, U.S. District Judge Roy Altman accused Zhang on Tuesday of feigning ignorance and pleaded with her to work with her public defenders, whom she fired in May without explanation. He also ruled she will be tried by a jury after she refused to respond to a prosecution suggestion that Altman decide whether she is guilty.

“I know full well that you understand what I am saying to you both in English and in Mandarin,” Altman told her, alluding to the translator who whispered to her throughout the 20-minute hearing. “I know full well you are trying to play games with the court.”

Prosecutors say Zhang falsely told a Secret Service agent she was there to swim and a clerk that she was there for a United Nations friendship dinner that she knew was canceled. Prosecutors say Zhang was carrying a computer, cellphones and other electronics, but isn’t charged with espionage.

Altman scheduled Tuesday’s hearing a week ago after prosecutors made their suggestion for a non-jury trial. Last week’s hearing did not go well, with Altman growing frustrated by Zhang’s lack of cooperation. This time didn’t go any better.

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