Spa owner denies working as spy selling access to Trump in first interview

SHARE Spa owner denies working as spy selling access to Trump in first interview
afp_1es9ac_e1552959961920.jpg

The former owner of a Florida spa named in a human trafficking investigation refuted reports about selling access to President Donald Trump in her first interview. | Getty Images

The former owner of a Florida spa named in a human trafficking investigation refuted reports about selling access to President Donald Trump in her first interview.

Speaking Wednesday night on “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt,” Li “Cindy” Yang defended herself two days after Democratic leaders released a letter requesting the FBI start counterintelligence and criminal investigations.

Yang told the network she believes her ethnicity and political preference sparked allegations of her working as a spy.

“I’m Republican and I’m Chinese,” Yang said. “That’s the reason the Democrats want to check me.”

After authorities charged New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and 24 other men with soliciting prostitution at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida, Yang came under scrutiny.

Yang told NBC she sold the business about seven years ago, but she also runs a consulting business that, according to its website, offers to sell Chinese clients access to Trump. GY US Investments LLC describes itself as a firm that helps American businesses “expand their brand image in the modern Chinese marketplace.”

In February, Yang posted a widely-circulated Facebook selfie with the president at a Super Bowl party at the Trump International Gold resort in Florida.

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

Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence and judiciary committees requested the FBI investigate Yang in a letter dated March 15. They wrote that her business could allow adversary governments to gather blackmail material on politicians.

As for the salon, Yang told NBC she is not involved in it.

“I sold to her in 2012 or 2013,” Yang said. “How they do their business has nothing to do with me.”

Read more at usatoday.com

The Latest
Over the course of just six fast-paced episodes, Esposito creates a memorable character in this crime drama based on the BBC One series “The Driver.”
Ald. Jeanette Taylor, chair of the City Council’s Education Committee chair, said she’s disappointed that Johnson and his allies in the Chicago Teachers Union backed away from the fully-elected, 21-member board he once supported. “This is not going to be as easy a transition as people think,” she said. “We’re used to a top-down system.”
Alex Caruso has been looking for a defensive showing like the one he and his teammates put on display in the win over the Pacers, but Caruso also knows it needs staying power. Could Javonte Green help that process moving forward?
Christian I. Soto, 22, was charged with murder, attempted murder and home invasion, officials announced Thursday. Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd said earlier investigators haven’t determined a motive for the attacks.
Can a message generated by an algorithm ever match hearing from a human?