President Trump said Wednesday he’s not concerned about security at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida after a Chinese woman was arrested trying to enter the property with malware.
“No, I’m not concerned at all,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with military leaders. “We have very good control.”
{mosads}He called it a “fluke situation” and praised the receptionist at the property who alerted Secret Service after the guest was behaving suspiciously.
Prosecutors said in a court filing made public Tuesday that Yujing Zhang allegedly entered the club with a thumb drive containing malicious software. She also allegedly showed officers two Chinese passports as she sought entrance to the club’s pool.
Zhang was granted access to the property because resort officials assumed she was related to a club member.
Once Zhang was inside, she told a receptionist she was there for a meeting of the United Nations Chinese American Association, according to court filings. The event she described did not exist, and the receptionist summoned more Secret Service agents, telling them Zhang was not authorized to be there.
The Secret Service said in a statement that it does not determine who is allowed to enter the club but that officers conduct physical screenings to ensure no prohibited items make it onto the property.
“The end result, it was good,” Trump said Wednesday. “I think probably we’ll see what happened, where she’s from, who she is, but the result is they were able to get her, and she is now suffering the consequences of whatever it is she had in mind.”
The incident has raised security concerns about who is able to access Mar-a-Lago, a private club in Palm Beach, Fla., where the president spends weekends periodically throughout the year.
Government watchdogs previously warned that Mar-a-Lago provides club members and guests access to the president and his inner circle.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Wednesday wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Secret Service Director Randolph Alles seeking additional information about Zhang’s entry onto the property.
“Access to the club could allow agents of foreign governments to collect valuable information on those with access to President Trump or conduct any of several other intelligence collection or influence operations,” Schiff wrote.
Updated 7:07 p.m.