Yujing Zhang lives in an estimated $1.3 million house, visits the United States to line up clients for her fledgling investment business and knows what questions to ask when she is in a squeeze.

WEST PALM BEACH — Yujing Zhang, a 32-year-old Chinese woman accused of lying to get into Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, lives in an estimated $1.3 million house, visits the United States to line up clients for her fledgling investment business and knows what questions to ask when she is in a squeeze.

Even a federal magistrate was impressed with Zhang’s quick grasp of her legal predicament.

“Well, Ms. Zhang, you are obviously very intelligent because your questions are excellent,” U.S. Magistrate William Matthewman told Zhang on Monday during her first court appearance after being charged Saturday with making false statements to a federal officer and illegally entering a restricted building.

>>READ ALSO: From Jeb Bush to Trump: How Cindy Yang’s China-linked circle gained access

A transcript of the hearing, obtained Thursday by The Palm Beach Post, shows Zhang politely, but forcefully, trying to understand her legal rights under the American system of justice that is clearly foreign to her.

“May I clarify?” she asked Matthewman as he explained her rights to her. “Are you saying that in the United States usually if you hire an attorney it costs thousands of dollars and then you will ask me a series of questions and if I qualify, you will give me free attorney?”

Matthewman said that was indeed how it worked.

Working as a consultant for Shanghai Zhirong Assets Management Corp., while trying to start her own investment business, Zhang testified through a Mandarin interpreter that she has enough money to hire her own attorney.

>>OTHER STORIES: Not just Cindy Yang: Royals, felon, pop stars, others got access to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

She said she lives in a house worth about $1.3 million in U.S. dollars. While she owes about $650,000 on it, she said she owns a BMW and has savings accounts in both China and the United States. The problem, she pointed out to Matthewman, is that she has no way to access her cash.

Stuck in the Palm Beach County jail, until she returns to court on Monday, she can’t make overseas phone calls to her friends and family in China on jail telephones. Further, while she said she had one friend in the United States, she needs a computer to retrieve his phone number.

Jail inmates aren’t allowed to use computers. And Zhang’s personal laptop, along with four cell phones, an external hard drive and a thumb drive that federal agents said contained malicious software were seized when she was arrested.

Convinced Zhang had no “liquid assets that she can use immediately to retain counsel,” Matthewman appointed Assistant U.S. Public Defender Robert Adler to represent her at least at Monday’s hearing which will determine whether she will be released on bond.

The question is why Zhang tried to get into Mar-a-Lago on Saturday while President Trump was visiting his private club which he has dubbed the Winter White House.

Secret Service agents arrested her after, they say, she gained access to the members-only club by first saying she wanted to use the pool.

Later, they say, she claimed she was at the club to attend a “United Nations Chinese American Association” event where she hoped to meet a member of Trump’s family to talk about Chinese-American economic relations. Club managers said no such events were planned.

However, according to the head Palm Beach Gardens-based children’s charity, an event had been scheduled at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night. What was to be the 2nd annual “Safari Night” had been planned to raise money for children, said Terry Bomar, head of the nonprofit Young Adventurers.

Trump’s sister, Elizabeth Trump-Grau, was to be the guest of honor, he said.

The gala was cancelled after organizers discovered it had been hijacked by Cindy Yang, the former owner of a Jupiter day spa where New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft allegedly solicited prostitution in January, Bomar said.

Yang listed the gala on her Chinese-language website where she peddled access to Trump and other Republican figures. She advertised it to Chinese nationals as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for “Chinese elites” to visit Trump’s exclusive club.

Yang, who lives in Wellington, even posted a flier on her website, featuring Trump-Grau’s photo and a picture of Mar-a-Lago.

While most of it was written in Chinese, the flier clearly says the event was scheduled for March 30 at the club. Those who wanted additional information, could contact “Cindy” at a Palm Beach County phone number.

Secret Service agents said Zhang showed them her invitation to the event at Mar-a-Lago that she planned to attend. They couldn’t read it because it was written in Chinese, they said. Citing an ongoing investigation, agents declined comment on Thursday when asked why they didn't get an interpreter.

It’s possible that Zhang was at Mar-a-Lago for the gala and hadn’t heard it had been canceled two weeks earlier, Bomar said. Zhang wasn’t on the guest list, he said. “I’ve never seen her name anywhere and I’ve checked,” he said.

Secret agents also said Zhang told them she had been told to attend the event by a Chinese man, she identified only as “Charles.” Zhang may have been referring to Charles Li. The Chinese businessman worked with Yang to bring foreign nationals to another Mar-a-Lago event last year, the Miami Herald reported.

Since Zhang’s arrest, questions have been raised about security at Mar-a-Lago. On Wednesday, the Secret Service issued a statement, insisting that security around the president is tight even though members and visitors are allowed to use the club when Trump and his family are visiting.

“The Secret Service does not determine who is invited or welcome at Mar-a-Lago; this is the responsibility of the host entity,” it said in a statement. “The Mar-a-Lago club management determines which members and guests are granted access to the property.”

But, it insisted: “This access does not afford an individual proximity to the President or other Secret Service protectees.”

When Zhang returns to court Monday, it is likely she and her attorney will face a fight.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John McMillan said the government wants her to remain behind bars. “The defendant poses an extreme risk of flight,” he told Matthewman. “Your Honor, she has no ties to the United States in general or to the Southern District of Florida in particular.”

jmusgrave@pbpost.com

@pbpcourts

.iframe-container { overflow: hidden; padding-top: 300%; position: relative;}.iframe-container iframe { border: 0; height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; top: 0; width: 100%;}