Who is the mystery man tied to the Chinese Mar-a-Lago intruder?

A Chinese entrepreneur with links to the Communist Party may be key to figuring out what happened at Trump’s club.

When Yujing Zhang, the Chinese woman arrested for allegedly sneaking into President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on March 30, appeared in court on Monday, a portion of the proceedings focused on a mysterious Chinese businessman named Charles Lee, who has ties to the Communist Party and the Chinese government and who appears to be at the center of this episode. A Mother Jones investigation of Lee has uncovered more questions about his business ventures and background.

According to an affidavit filed by the Secret Service, Zhang was arrested carrying four cellphones, a laptop, an external hard drive, and a thumb drive containing malware. She told a Secret Service agent she had been invited by a Chinese friend named Charles to a “United Nations Friendship Event” between China and the United States at Trump’s resort, where she hoped to “speak with a member of the President’s family about Chinese and American foreign economic relations.” At the hearing, prosecutors noted that during a subsequent search of Zhang’s hotel room, federal investigators found nine thumb drives, five SIM cards, a device used to detect hidden cameras, and about $8,000. But Assistant US Attorney Rolando Garcia noted, “The present charges have no allegation that she’s a spy or this is espionage, or whatever…There are a whole lot of questions that remain to be answered.” And one of those questions was what role this person called Charles played in an international incident that has prompted counterintelligence concerns.


[link:https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/04/who-is-the-mystery-man-charles-lee-tied-to-the-mar-a-lago-intruder-the-puzzle-involves-an-empty-lot-in-colorado/|