Former Florida spa owner defends Trump, pushes back on Dems

The former owner of a Florida spa caught up in a prostitution sting is pushing back on claims that she peddled access to President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort, while accusing House Democrats of wanting to investigate her because she’s Republican.

“I’m Republican and I’m Chinese,” Li Yang told NBC News in an interview released Wednesday. “That’s the reason the Democrats want to check me.”

She separately defended Trump in an interview with ABC News, saying, “I totally believed he’s a business person … I’m a small business person too. I believe that we will make America great again.”{mosads}

Yang spoke out in interviews with the networks after congressional Democrats late last week expressed an interest in Yang’s past business activities.

The top Democrats on the Intelligence and Judiciary committees in both chambers wrote to the heads of the FBI, Director of National Intelligence and Secret Service requesting they “conduct criminal and counterintelligence investigations” into Yang over allegations of potential human trafficking as well as unlawful foreign lobbying and campaign finance.

Yang came under scrutiny earlier this month when she was identified by the Miami Herald as the former owner of the Florida spa where New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with soliciting prostitution in February. She sold the location in 2013.

Mother Jones later reported that Yang and her husband, Zubin Gong, founded a company called GY US Investments, a website for which told potential clients about setting up opportunities to “interact with the president, the [American] Minister of Commerce and other political figures.”

The firm’s website reportedly advertised helping arrange presidential photo-ops and the chance to set up a “White House and Capitol Hill Dinner,” Mother Jones reported. The website was later taken down.

The site also identified her as holding a position with the Chinese Association for Science and Technology, which The Washington Post reported is linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s influence-spreading operations.

“I love Americans. I love our president. I don’t do anything wrong,” Yang told NBC News.

She insisted that no prostitution ever took place at her spas while she was operating them, saying “their business has nothing to do with me.”

“Nobody in my place do that,” she said. “We never have police report. We never have any problems. Nothing.”

She also denied allegations that she was working with the Chinese government.

The businesswoman has attended several political events featuring high-profile Republicans and took a selfie with Trump while rooting for the Patriots during a Super Bowl party at Trump’s West Palm Beach county club.

Yang described her attendance at Mar-a-Lago and other GOP affairs as “business networking.”

Yang and her close relatives have donated more than $42,000 to Trump Victory, a political action committee, and more than $16,000 to the Trump campaign, The Miami Herald reported.

She described the donations as support for Trump’s tax plan.

“Reduce the tax. That would help us a lot,” she said.