Another twist in this wild story.

“This is perhaps the strangest tale of a political donor that I’ve ever worked on.” MoJo Reader, The story I highlighted for you last week, below, just took another wild turn when we ran across Cheng Gao, a jet-setting, heavily tattooed, vegan aesthete who reveres the Dalai Lama—and has also given $237,000 to Trump and the RNC and moved into Trump Tower. Deputy DC bureau chief Daniel Schulman says, “This is perhaps the strangest tale of a political donor that I’ve ever worked on,” and it’s one of those cases where what we didn’t find is just as interesting as what we found. See what Daniel means by [reading the latest twist in our team’s investigation today](. Like a person who knows Gao says, “This just doesn’t add up.” Thanks for reading, and for everything you do to make Mother Jones what it is. Monika Bauerlein, CEO Mother Jones P.S. Read below to see how we ended up on this path. --------------------------------------------------------------- It was one of those stories that makes MoJo reporters’ ears perk up: On Friday, March 8, the Miami Herald published a photo of Cindy Yang—the founder of a Florida massage parlor where Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with soliciting sex—watching Kraft’s Patriots in the Super Bowl with Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort, where Kraft is a well-known member. When wealthy businesspeople and politicians hobnob, there’s usually more to the story—doubly so with Donald Trump. And now that congressional Democrats have [asked]( the FBI to investigate contacts between Yang and Trump, I thought it would be a good time to open the box and show readers like you—whose support makes work like this possible—how Mother Jones broke the story at the center of the controversy. It’s a fascinating story, and worth sharing with all of you. As soon as MoJo news and engagement editor Inae Oh saw the Herald story, she started digging through social media and quickly found a Facebook page full of photos of Yang with power brokers: Yang with Trump Jr.; Yang with Sarah Palin; Yang with members of Florida’s congressional delegation; all apparently at Republican fundraisers or Mar-a-Lago events. She began taking screenshots, knowing that people often take down their accounts when they’re in the headlines, and dug through Florida business records to confirm directly that Yang was associated with the spa from the Kraft incident. Inae published a post [showing some of these new photos]( within hours. Think of Inae as our first responder, quickly digging into details to add to what’s already known when news is breaking. Meanwhile, Dan Friedman, a reporter who specializes in foreign influence (and was [brought on board]( thanks to the MoJo community directly funding his position when it was clear this issue deserves all the attention we can bring to bear) in Mother Jones’ Washington bureau, had dug up a phone number for Yang and called it (a man answered the phone and hung up); reporter Stephanie Mencimer was combing through Florida licensing records; and deputy DC bureau chief Daniel Schulman had discovered a site for a company registered to Yang called GY Investments. It was entirely in Mandarin, but there were enough intriguing references—including what looked like an invitation to an event at Mar-a-Lago featuring Trump’s sister, the judge Elizabeth Trump Grau—to prompt a close look. With the expert review of a Mandarin-speaking lawyer who happens to be sharing office space with Mother Jones (thank you, [Mark](!), the picture came into focus: Yang’s company was in the business of peddling access to the president of the United States and his family for Chinese executives. By Saturday morning, with a full-court press reporting effort by Schulman, Friedman, and Washington bureau chief David Corn, we published what we found: “[A Florida Massage Parlor Owner Has Been Selling Chinese Execs Access to Trump at Mar-a-Lago](.” It immediately set off a flurry of tweets, comments, and other news coverage. ProPublica’s Charles Ornstein tweeted, “This story should be on the front page of every newspaper today. Why isn’t it?” By Sunday, the story was covered by Rachel Maddow, Stephen Colbert, USA Today, the Associated Press, and many other outlets. Also by then, David, Dan, and Daniel (there are a total of five Dans in Mother Jones’ newsroom—we have no idea how this happened) had published another scoop: “[The Massage Parlor Owner Peddling Access to Trump Has Ties to Chinese Government-Linked Groups](.” So in just about 48 hours over a weekend, building on the great reporting by the Miami Herald, our team had documented that a controversial massage parlor owner with ties to China’s government was selling her connection to Trump and his circle. It was only days later that the White House [finally responded](, saying the president “doesn’t know this woman.” And a week later, Capitol Hill Democrats demanded the FBI open up both criminal and counterintelligence investigations of the matter. Why am I telling you all of this? One, because I’m so in awe of the MoJo team for jumping on this and producing kickass journalism in short order. Bravo to Inae, Stephanie, Dan, Daniel, and David—and Nihal Krishan, who fact-checked their work. Two, because this is a classic case of the press as a SWAT team for accountability: Congress might never have known about Yang had it not been for the Miami Herald’s and Mother Jones’ reporting. And access-selling at the commander-in-chief’s palatial residence is definitely something Congress—and the public—needs to know about. And three, because reporting—and impact—like this is why reader support of Mother Jones is so important; not just for Mother Jones, but for democracy. Because of you, our newsroom can dig deep and pivot fast; that’s why our DC team was able to swing into action within minutes, including a specialized reporter we wouldn’t have been able to hire had you not funded the position directly. Because of you, we can go after complex issues longer and harder than others who are incentivized to churn out quick hits. And because we don’t have to panic about taking a reporter off the daily grind to pursue an important lead, David and the Dans have been able to continue pursuing the Yang story and related scoops for weeks. We don’t know where this particular story is going next. But exposing and examining Trump’s web of business connections at home and overseas—and his susceptibility to influence-peddling and external pressure—has been a core beat for Mother Jones ever since he rode down that golden escalator. Today, it is apparent that these conflicts involve not just the president, but many of his key associates and donors (including his son-in-law), and that the pattern of insider wheeling and dealing has spiraled far beyond his inner circle. Trump may not know Cindy Yang, but she knew him, funded his campaign, and took brazen steps to monetize that knowledge. This is deeper than a swamp. That’s why we’ll stay on this beat—and plan to double down in a big way. More on that soon. But for now, thanks for reading, for sharing our reporting, and for everything you to do make Mother Jones what it is. Monika Bauerlein, CEO Mother Jones [DONATE]( --------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To stop receiving Mother Jones' fundraising and subscription emails, or manage your preferences for our emails, click [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [www.MotherJones.com]() PO Box 3029, Langhorne, PA 19047-9129