Top Democrats in Congress want the FBI to conduct criminal and counterintelligence probes into a Chinese American business executive accused of using her personal access to President Donald Trump to facilitate business opportunities for Chinese executives, activities that came to light after a Florida massage parlor she founded was exposed as part of a sex trafficking and prostitution ring.
In a letter to the heads of the directors of the FBI, national intelligence agencies and the Secret Service, the top intelligence and judiciary committee Democrats from the Senate and House asked for investigations into "credible allegations of potential human trafficking, as well as unlawful foreign lobbying, campaign finance and other activities" by Li "Cindy" Yang, a naturalized U.
Yang, a Republican donor, has made frequent visits to Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club and attended the president's Super Bowl party this year, snapping a selfie of herself with the president during the event.
It is that level of contact - though it appears that Yang often had to pay her way into events - that has congressional investigators concerned that her activities "could permit adversary governments or their agents access to these same politicians to acquire potential material for blackmail or other even more nefarious purposes. They acknowledged, however, that Yang may not have had such compromising intentions herself, and that her "activities may only be those of an unscrupulous actor allegedly selling access to politicians for profit.
Evan Turk, an attorney for Cindy Yang, said a legal team has reviewed the allegations, which he described as "politically driven. Our firm will represent our client and her interest as an American through any developments in this case. It seems as another politically driven expedition. We will be addressing these matters when appropriate," Turk said in a statement to The Washington Post.
