Chinese Woman with Malicious Malware Arrested at Mar-a-Lago

Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida has been a major problem since he took office — for many reasons, not least of which is the lax security there.

That's why, although it should be incredible that this woman got as far as she did, it's not the least bit surprising:

A Chinese woman carrying a thumb drive loaded with malware was detained at Mar-a-Lago Saturday after trying to gain access to events advertised on Chinese-language social media by Li "Cindy" Yang, the South Florida massage parlor entrepreneur who also ran a business selling access to [Donald] Trump and his family.

The woman, Yujing Zhang, has been charged with two federal crimes: making false statements to a federal officer and entering restricted property.

She was carrying four cellphones, one laptop, one external hard drive, and a thumb drive, according to court records. In a charging document, a Secret Service agent said a preliminary forensic examination of the thumb drive showed it contained "malicious malware." The court filing did not provide further details about the nature of the malware.

Zhang originally told a U.S. Secret Service agent that she wanted to use Mar-a-Lago's pool, but upon further questioning said she had traveled from Shanghai to attend a "United Nations Friendship Event" between China and the United States. She said she planned to speak with a member of the president's family about U.S.-Chinese economic relations. Zhang's arrest was first reported by WPTV. In court records, her birth year is listed as 1986.

There was no United Nations Friendship Event on March 30 at the president's Palm Beach resort. Trump had been staying at Mar-a-Lago but golfing at one of his nearby clubs at the time of the incident. However, first lady Melania Trump and other members of the Trump family were at Mar-a-Lago, according to NBC.

Naturally, the Secret Service was asked to comment, and they issued a statement late yesterday that read, in part: "The Secret Service does not determine who is invited or welcome at Mar-a-Lago; this is the responsibility of the host entity. ...With the exception of certain permanently protected facilities, such as the White House, the practice used at Mar-a-Lago is no different than that long-used at any other site temporarily visited by the President or other Secret Service protectees."

Except obviously Mar-a-Lago is different, very much so, than other sites visited by the president, because he's there all the time and people know when he's going to be there.

It's astounding how much of Trump's breach of protocol is waved away with some nonsense about how "unconventional" he is, to stop us ever having a serious public conversation about how the president's refusal to abide security guidelines that have long been in place for a reason is a threat to the nation.