Senators are calling for a probe into the strange story of a woman who allegedly conned her way into the graces of Donald Trump and his Mar-a-Lago guests by fabricating her entire life story.
Last month, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project reported a story detailing the alleged actions of Inna Yashchyshyn, a Ukrainian-born woman who is being investigated by the FBI and who reportedly infiltrated the de-facto headquarters of the Republican Party on multiple occassions.
Federal agents believe that she has been posing as Anna de Rothschild, a fictitious socialite and heiress from the well-known European banking family. She allegedly used that fraudulent pedigree to charm her way into Mar-a-Lago, going so far as to pose for photos with the former president and Senator Lindsey Graham.
Beyond the obvious security breach allowing her access to the former president and at least one current senator, she was also visiting the resort at the same time that Mr Trump was storing highly-classified documents in the building.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the bizarre tale was just another example of “what appears to be porous or even nonexistent security at Mar-a-Lago.”
Weeks before the paper published the story about Ms Yashchyshyn, the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and recovered troves of classified government documents Mr Trump’s team had removed from the White House. Many of the documents recovered are required by law to be viewed only in secure facilities, which does not include the Florida golf resort.
Mr Warner said he would be bringing the issue up with his contacts in the nation’s intelligence agencies.
“I have regular contact with senior leadership [of the intelligence agencies], and I intend to raise this issue,” he told the paper.
Senator Rob Wyden told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that any senatorial inquiries into the seizures at Mar-a-Lago should also include details about Ms Yashchyshyn’s visits.
“It’s extraordinarily important. My sense is a briefing now needs to be done by multiple agencies. It’s not just going to be one,” he said.
Senator Bob Casey, who is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told the paper that her ability to allegedly walk right into Mar-a-Lago was concerning.
“One of the things our adversaries try to do every day of the week is infiltrate, either physically infiltrate or if someone was able to get into a building or into a setting where a public official is, or documents are, or a former public official,” he said. “It’s a real concern.”
Mr Rubio told the paper that he hadn’t read the reporting on Ms Yashchyshyn yet, but said he’s sure the senators will “ask the appropriate questions” about her and any possible links between her and the former president’s secret documents.
