Chinese Nationals at Mar-a-Lago Raise Questions About Classified Documents

One of Donald Trump's former lawyers said that boxes of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago were "absolutely" not kept in secure places, amid concern about who could have had access to them.

Tim Parlatore, who left the former president's legal team in May, appeared on CNN on June 9 to discuss the indictment against Trump in which the Republican has been charged with 37 federal offences, including 31 counts of willful retention of classified documents under the Espionage Act.

During his appearance, Parlatore was asked by host Jake Tapper about photos showing the "incredibly reckless" storing of boxes of materials at Trumps' Mar-a-Lago resort, which were included in the indictment.

The unsealed indictment showed that boxes of documents were kept in bathrooms, office spaces, and other areas of Trump's Florida resort.

Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is seen on September 14, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. The former president is mired in legal woes. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Tapper also noted that Mar-a-Lago has had issues with intruders on the property down the years, including two Chinese nationals who were accused of trespassing in 2019 prior to the classified materials being kept at Trump's Palm Beach residence.

Tapper mentioned these incidents to Parlatore to raise questions about who could have had access to the classified materials while they were at Mar-a-Lago, a place where the former president frequently holds events, weddings, parties and other gatherings.

While showing an image of several boxes on a stage in a control room at Mar-a-Lago, Tapper said: "I had assumed that there was some effort to at least put them in a room and lock them away, that's incredibly reckless."

In response, Parlatore said: "If they knew what was in the boxes." When noting how two Chinese nationals and a third woman had illegally gained access to Mar-a-Lago in recent years, Tapper added: "That's not secure, right?"

"That's absolutely right, that is not secure," Parlatore said in reference to the boxes on the stage.

In February 2020, Chinese national Jing Ly was found guilty of resisting a police officer without violence after ignoring warnings to leave Mar-a-Lago and then returning to take pictures of the resort in December 2019. She was found not guilty of trespassing by a jury, and argued that the language barrier meant she didn't understand when a security officer told her to leave the resort.

In March 2019, another Chinese woman, Yujing Zhang, also gained access to Mar-a-Lago despite not being a member of the resort.

After telling Secret Service agents she was there to swim at the resort, she was allowed to enter as security thought she was the daughter of an existing member because she had the same surname.

Zhang raised suspicions as she didn't have a swimming costume. She later changed her story and said she was there to attend a U.N. friendship event between the United States and China, despite evidence on her phone suggesting she knew the event had been canceled.

Zhang was carrying a total of four cellphones, a laptop and other electronic gear, promoting fears she could have been a spy. She was never charged with espionage, but later found guilty of trespassing and lying to Secret Service agents and deported.

The indictment, which was unsealed on June 9, said that among the documents Trump retained and moved to his Mar-a-Lago resort were the "defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack."

Prosecutors haven't formally alleged that any foreign national had access to or viewed the materials at Mar-a-Lago. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in connection to the classified materials case, and accused Special Counsel Jack Smith's probe of being a "political hit job" and a "witch hunt."

Trump's legal team has been contacted for comment via email.