Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete ButtigiegPeter (Pete) Paul ButtigiegThe Hill’s 12:30 Report: House panel approves impeachment powers Burden in tonight’s debate is on Democratic realists California law could upend gig economy — and progress MORE on Thursday went further than their previous pledges on Afghanistan by saying they would swiftly withdraw U.S. troops even without a peace deal with the Taliban.

The Democratic presidential candidates also said they would bring troops home quickly even if military leaders advised otherwise.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We have got to put an end to endless war. And the way we do it is see to it that that country will never again be used for an attack against our homeland and that does not require an open-ended requirement of ground troops,” Buttigieg said.

Buttigieg, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, noted that Americans born after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks “could be 18 years old, old enough to serve, and have not been alive on 9/11.”

Warren, meanwhile, replied “yes” when asked if she would keep her promise to bring the troops home immediately, even if there were no deal with the Taliban.

“Yes, and I’ll tell you why. What we’re doing right now in Afghanistan is not helping the safety and security of the United States, it is not helping the safety and security of the world, it is not helping the safety and security of Afghanistan,” she said. “We need to bring our troops home.”

Warren said that rather than “bomb our way to a solution in Afghanistan,” the U.S. must treat terrorism as a worldwide problem and work with allies.

Pressed by ABC moderator David Muir about whether she would pull troops if military leaders on the ground advised her that a deal with the Taliban was needed, she pointed to a trip to Afghanistan two years ago when she talked to local and U.S. military leaders.

She said she had asked officials to “show me what winning looks like.”

“No one can describe it, and the reason no one can describe it is because the problems in Afghanistan are not problems that can be solved by a military,” Warren said.

The Trump administration has worked for nearly a year to negotiate a peace agreement with the Taliban that would see U.S. troops withdrawn in exchange for assurances by the Taliban that it would not let terrorists launch attacks against the United States from Afghanistan.

Click Here: brisbane lions guernsey 2019

President Trump last week revealed he had canceled a secret meeting with Taliban leaders at Camp David to finalize such a deal.

Trump said he canceled the Camp David summit because of a Taliban-claimed car bomb in Kabul that killed a U.S. soldier, as well as 11 others. He has since described the peace talks as “dead.”

The U.S. has about 14,000 troops fighting in the 18-year-old war on a dual mission of training, advising and assisting Afghan troops in their fight against the Taliban and conducting counterterrorism missions against groups such as al Qaeda and ISIS.

Buttigieg on Thursday also took a swipe at Trump over recent reports that a U.S. Air Force crew stayed at one of the president’s hotels in Scotland during a layover.

“We … have a president right now who seems to treat troops as props, or worse, tools for his own enrichment,” Buttigieg said.

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk picked up the PFA award but the Chelsea star believes that attacking players are more deserving of individual gongs

Eden Hazard says he voted for Sergio Aguero as the PFA Player of the Year because he is the “most consistent player in the league.”

The award ultimately went to Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk for his contribution to the Reds’ bid to take champions Manchester City’s Premier League crown.

Despite scoring 230 goals in 334 games since arriving at City in 2011, Aguero has never won either the PFA or Football Writers’ annual award, and has picked up just one Premier League Golden Boot, in 2014-15 when City finished a distant second to Chelsea.

The Argentinean has netted 29 goals in 43 games this term as City have sparred with Liverpool to defend their crown, and Hazard believes such numbers make him a deserving winner of the footballers’ union’s annual prize.

“Well, sometimes people are playing well for two months and then for the next nine months they disappear, so I try to look for consistency,” said Hazard, writing in Chelsea’s matchday program ahead of the visit of Watford to Stamford Bridge.

“It’s better for me to vote for a guy that plays well for a whole season than for a guy who is on fire for two months, but only two months. I don’t base it much on how they play when I come up against them but on the whole year.

“I voted for Sergio Aguero, not because he scored a hat-trick against us! He has been playing in the Premier League for eight years now and in that time he is the guy who is always consistent. Sometimes he is injured but when he’s on the pitch, he’s scoring a lot of goals. So, for me, he is the best.”

Van Dijk has provided the bedrock on which Liverpool have built their bid to land a first league title since 1990.

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds have conceded just 22 goals in the league over the course of the campaign, representing a significant turnaround in defensive fortunes compared to the manager’s chaotic early days when goals flowed at both ends.

“We can also say Sadio Mane was good, for example, but a lot of players deserve to win – even me!” said Hazard. “Van Dijk, he has had a good season, but it is difficult to say a defender is the best in the league.

“Of course, if he scored 15 or 20 goals, but it doesn’t happen for a defender. For me, it is better to vote for a striker or midfielder.”

Click Here: Aston Villa Shop

Despite facing a sizeable deficit after the first leg, the Croatia defender insists that the Champions League semi-final is far from over for the Reds

Liverpool are more than capable of beating the odds to qualify for the European Cup final at Barcelona’s expense, according to Dejan Lovren.

Jurgen Klopp’s men were beaten 3-0 at Camp Nou on Wednesday and are now major underdogs in the tie ahead of a second leg showdown at Anfield on Tuesday .

Luis Suarez came back to haunt his old club by grabbing the opener in Spain before Lionel Messi took centre stage with a sublime double to round off the scoring.

Many fans and experts have already written off Liverpool’s chances of a turnaround, which Lovren is utilising as a source of motivation.

“It makes me angry,” the 29-year-old told  Press Association Sport . “Angry and hungry to show them we are capable of doing something special at Anfield.

“We have big players and big players should show in big games and I think this is one of those games on Tuesday so I expect one of the biggest games at Anfield.

“This is why we are Liverpool. This is why we are a unique club. When people already said to us ‘They are already done, they will not come through’ we always show the balls to produce the biggest comebacks.

“It doesn’t look from the result at the moment, because they are 3-0 up, but football is unpredictable – especially in the Champions League at Anfield.”

Klopp may have to mastermind an unlikely result in the absence of Mohamed Salah, who is a doubt after being stretchered off during Liverpool’s 3-2 win over Newcastle on Saturday .

The Egyptian suffered a concussion as the Reds secured an eighth successive Premier League win to stay in the hunt for the title.

Roberto Firmino will also miss the Barca clash through injury , but Lovren is confident Liverpool can still progress to a second consecutive Champions League final without two key men.

The Croatia international feels home advantage will be key to a potential upset, with the Anfield crowd likely to have a huge impact on proceedings.

“Of course, we will never just accept that we already lost,” Lovren added. “It is just one game. It will be quite a tough challenge after 3-0 but I remember we did it many times and Liverpool are quite famous for big comebacks.

“I hope we can do it again but we need big, big support from the fans. This is, I think, the main thing. I hope Mo will be OK now after the knock because it doesn’t look good.

“We showed already many times we can play without Mo and also a couple of other players. But the most important thing is the crowd.

“The most important thing is to score quite early and if we can manage that then everything is possible. It will be a challenge but I believe at Anfield I believe in the supporters, I believe in this team.

“I hope we will have Mo back as he is quite important for us. Let us see what tactics we will have against Barca – we can maybe surprise them.”

Click Here: IQOS White

The perfect role for an inspirational man

Three months on from his release from a Thailand detention centre, Australian refugee and footballer Hakeem Al-Araibi has accepted a job with Football Victoria as their Community and Human Rights Advocate.

The part-time job will see the Pascoe Vale player engage with Victoria’s multicultural football community and inspire them with his own personal battle.

Al-Araibi made global headlines earlier this year after being detained in Thailand for over two months and threatened with deportation back to his native Bahrain where he faced possible torture and death for alleged crimes. 

Now safely back in Australia and playing football, the 25-year-old is already keen to give back to the round ball community in Victoria. 

“This job will help me because I love to share my story with people,” Al-Araibi said.

“My story is about how football and sport helped a player; it’s a big example of the power of football and how it can change your life.

“The job will also help me speak more English and it will help me to maybe be a coach in the future after I finish playing.

“For many people like me, when they come to Australia it is a new country, a new life and for those people I want to be able to help them, to give them advice, to help them play football, help them with anything and for their future.”

Al-Araibi became an Australian citizen in March and has made no secret of his desire to one day play in the A-League. 

Click Here: pandora Bracelets

The Gunners take a 3-1 lead into the second leg of their semi-final tie with Valencia and simply cannot afford to suffer another away-day debacle

When Arsenal won at Napoli to book their spot in the Europa League semi-finals it was Unai Emery’s 32nd win from his first 50 games in charge – no-one in the club’s 133-year history has a better record.

Emery’s closest challenger is George Allison, who won 28, then comes George Graham and Herbert Chapman with 27. Arsene Wenger is eighth in the all-time list with 23.

So, it seems remarkable that Emery heads to former club Valencia on Thursday night with the spotlight focused on him, but that is exactly what’s happening following a disastrous run of results for the Spaniard.

Since Alexandre Lacazette’s goal secured that 1-0 success in the San Paolo, Arsenal have failed to win in four Premier League games, losing three and drawing one. It’s a run of form that has seen them blow their chance of a top-four finish and the guarantee of Champions league football that comes with it.

The Gunners’ only victory during that spell came in the Europa League, with Valencia seen off 3-1 at the Emirates in the first leg of the semi-final.

And now, with the second leg in the Mestalla upon us, Arsenal’s and Emery’s season sits on a knife-edge.

Get the job done in Spain and the Gunners can focus on the final in Baku on May 29 and a potential top-seed spot in next season’s Champions League.

However, should they fail to get over the line in Spain despite starting with a two-goal advantage, then the work Emery has done during his first campaign in England will come under severe scrutiny.

Ahead of the game, however, Emery told Goal that failure is not something he has thought about.

“I don’t think about ifs,” said the former Valencia boss. “It’s not a condition for me. I am coach who in my past and present is thinking about what to do. I’m positive and working towards our goal and objective.

“I am very demanding with myself and give my players this mentality that we want to do something important.

“It’s not thinking about or feeling pressure like a negative. I think by demanding a positive.”

Given the job he inherited and the issues he’s had to face during his first season in charge at the Emirates, it is perhaps unfair that Emery finds himself under pressure.

He took over from a man who had run things his way in north London for 22 years and, as has been proven at Manchester United following Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, it is far from easy to follow in the footsteps of one of the most iconic managers the game has ever seen.

Emery has also had to deal with Ivan Gazidis – the man who appointed him – jumping ship for AC Milan, as well as head of recruitment Sven Mislintat also moving on.

There was also the farce that was the January transfer window, with Arsenal having to scour Europe with their begging bowls out looking for loan deals because there was no money available to try and secure their targets on a permanent basis.

Taking all that into consideration, it’s tough not to come to the conclusion that Emery’s record of 33 wins from his first 55 games is an impressive one – yet he still goes into the semi-final second leg with many unconvinced he is the right man for the job.

A big factor in the criticism that is starting to come his way is that fans are struggling to really see many signs of improvement in some key areas.

He arrived with the reputation of a coach who was meticulous in his planning, a coach who would ensure his players were fully prepared for whatever threat the opposition would possess on a match day.

Yet he has failed to address the same problems that were consistently evident during the finals years of Wenger’s tenure.

The defensive record has not improved. Arsenal conceded 51 goals in the Premier League last season and, with one game of the current campaign remaining this time out, they have shipped 50. It’s the first time in 35 years that the Gunners have let in 50 goals or more in two successive seasons.

“The reality is, Emery needs four or five defenders and that is a concern as that is an overhaul,” said former Gunners star Charlie Nicholas.

“Shkodran Mustafi has been a waste of £42 million, which is the biggest bug for me. Saed Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal are left wing-backs, while Sokratis Papastathopoulos lacks pace.

“Where are the young Arsenal defenders from the academy? It sounds as though with Arsenal’s academy, if you are not technically good, then you don’t fit the criteria for defensive qualities.

“We have not brought anyone through of any substance at all. If you can’t afford £60m-£70m defenders, then you have to start the process of teaching.

“I am not looking for a Tony Adams but someone who has enough speed and understanding of a situation. How we can’t find that is beyond me.”

Criticism being aimed at Arsenal’s defence is nothing new, which is perhaps why it’s disappointing not to see signs of genuine progress at the back under Emery. But one thing you have been able to count on when it comes to Arsenal over the years is their ability to excite going forward.

But so far this season they have not really shown the type of attacking flair that was their hallmark under Wenger on a consistent basis, with the attack becoming increasingly reliant on Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang.

It’s been tough to watch Arsenal at times this season, especially away from home where Emery has been accused of setting his team up far too negatively.

Mesut Ozil, the club’s best creative talent and highest earner, has been used sparingly and has even found himself left out of the squad at times. Aaron Ramsey, meanwhile, is now Juventus-bound having been allowed to leave on a free transfer.

Those are the sort of issues can be contained when you are winning, but if results are not going your way, then the spotlight will always fall on those in charge.

And while there is the usual frustration from the fanbase towards owner Stan Kroenke, Emery has certainly found himself in the firing line in recent weeks.

And should things go wrong in the Mestalla, those dissenting voices are only going grow louder.

What Mauricio Pochettino’s side did goes a long way to eclipsing what Liverpool did against Barcelona, stunning the Dutch in a second-half comeback

Half an hour after the full-time whistle and some Ajax fans still haven’t moved. They are rubbing their faces and this nightmare is running through their minds on a loop. 

The floor underneath is now sticky. It’s been pelted with gallons of beer that’s dried in. There’s a reason they serve it in plastic cups in stadiums. 

You might expect anger but there’s none there, yet. They will be angry when they come to terms with it. They will look back on posts hit and spaces emptied and mistakes made. 

They will wake up for years to come in the dead of night and ask themselves why? And how?

Ajax played this season’s Champions League with a sense of destiny. They were everyone’s second favourite… everyone’s other than the fans of the teams they were playing. 

Tottenham knew that they were up against that and a whole lot more. 

They were up against a fresh team whose title challenge in the domestic league was put on hiatus so they could better concentrate on winning the Champions League.

The last time they walked off a field it was with the Dutch Cup held aloft. The last time Tottenham walked off it was against Bournemouth where they’d just been beaten and there were only nine of them. 

You cannot for a second take your eye off the ball, you cannot take it for granted. You cannot – with only 45 minutes to go and with a three-goal headstart – assume anything. 

Because if you do you will be attacked by mentality giants . It’s not just Liverpool who can claim to have that in this season’s Champions League. What Spurs did goes a long way to eclipsing what Liverpool did against Barcelona. 

Maybe it was nerves for Ajax; maybe it was that they realised they were tantalisingly close to the most important match this club has played in the best part of a quarter century. 

Whatever it was, they came down suddenly with what will henceforth be known as a case of the Wijnaldums; succumbing to two pistol-shot goals at the start of the second half of a Champions League semi-final which threaten to invert the order of things. 

For Gini last night, read Lucas Moura tonight.

But where Liverpool had largely played the better football over two legs, Spurs were given a runaround. Where Liverpool were unlucky, Spurs only had themselves to blame. 

They lost two first-half goals here in Amsterdam and the jig appeared up. 

It’s sometimes hard to pinpoint exactly where matches like this are won and lost. But for sure Ajax were looking at the big stadium clocks and hoping the seconds would go by twice as quick. They tried coming out, they even hit the post. 

But there was a sense of inevitability from the moment Lucas swept a ball home on the break. He was found expertly by Dele Alli, both of whom now have a chance of being recognised as this competition’s best player. 

Andre Onana’s mix-up gave the Brazilian the chance to repeat the trick and ensure Spurs needed only one. 

That’s when the beer showers started. The anger in the stands was showing and the mentality on the field was a long way away from what was required. 

The board went up. Five minutes. Onana was handed an under-inflated ball to restart play with a late goal kick. Ajax made another mess of holding possession and Lucas had his chance. 

The pocket of Spurs fans in the corner could scarcely believe what they were seeing. Their team had just earned a place in their first-ever Champions League final. 

And how? Who knows. 

Their form lately has been nothing short of woeful. They are slipping to defeat after defeat to teams they should be battering in the Premier League. 

Their injuries are stacking up. The fit ones are playing badly. They are lucky the season is ending on the home front because if it were to go on any longer they would sink like a stone. 

They survived thanks to VAR against Manchester City. The control they exerted in the first leg against City stands alone as their best moment of football since the quarter-finals began. 

The second leg was a mess and they were hammered by a City team who did exactly enough on their own soil. It slipped from their grasp in London. 

And that’s where Ajax ran them ragged. Spurs fans bickered over who should be dropped or sold quickest. You wouldn’t find a Spurs fan here who genuinely thought there was something in it for them tonight. 

But the way they up-and-undered Ajax last week set the template. They located the great hope’s weak chin. Tonight they knocked him out. 

Fernando Llorente was unmanageable. Lucas eluded too many of those in white and red. Alli and Christian Eriksen were penetrative. The clock wound down but Ajax fans knew it was coming.

Tottenham, Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham, are in the Champions League final. 

How? Who knows.

Click Here: NRL league Jerseys

Two goals for the striker, who was called up late as an injury replacement, fired Jurgen Klopp’s side to a stunning 4-3 aggregate victory at Anfield

Winning goalscorer Divock Origi singled out the attentiveness of his Liverpool team-mates as one of the key driving factors behind their remarkable victory over Barcelona as the Reds sealed their place in a second successive Champions League final.

A brace for the Belgian and a similar double for Dutchman Georginio Wijnaldum fired Jurgen Klopp’s side to a stunning 4-0 win at Anfield to take the semi-final tie 4-3 on aggregate and shock the Blaugrana.

The hosts defied the odds on another famous European night on Merseyside as they handed Barca their heaviest ever defeat by an English side in continental competition, shackling Lionel Messi and company under the lights.

Origi was a late replacement after key strikers Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino were ruled out through injury, leaving Sadio Mane as the only regular forward amid Klopp’s typical 4-3-3 formation.

The 24-year-old and fellow fringe player Xherdan Shaqiri were both handed rare starts as a result – and the former repaid the faith shown in him twice over with both the opener and the decisive winner either side of Wijnaldum’s efforts.

Speaking after the game, Origi admitted that the achievement was almost indescribable, while paying tribute to the spirit of the club’s never-say-die attitude.

“It’s unbelievable!” he told RMC. “[To] win 4-0 against Barcelona. We knew it would be hard.

“We are a great team, we have very good players and we have the mentality, we wanted each ball, and it’s something incredible.

“[To] Come to Anfield here, it’s hard for the rival. We have not seen the manager, but with my teammates, we were so happy. It’s special, it’s difficult to describe with words.

“We [played] our usual 4-3-3 but we knew that today we had to take risks, play with our heart. Everyone had to be attentive and we did it.

“We have a lot of respect for this team but it is the mentality that made the difference.

“On the fourth goal, I knew that everyone was tired. These are things that have been done all year round in training. I had some great nights in my career but today, it’s fantastic.”

Fellow hero Trent Alexander-Arnold​ was also thrilled with the late winner for Origi, set up by his quickly played corner. 

“I think it was just instinctive,” Alexander-Arnold told BT Sport.

“It was just one of those moments where you see the opportunity and obviously Div was switched on to finish it off.

“It probably came at him a bit fast but he’s a top player, scored two goals for us and I think it’s one of them where everyone will remember this moment.”

Liverpool will face either Ajax or Tottenham in the final in Madrid in early June with the former holding the advantage following a 1-0 first leg win in London.

The France international limped off with a hamstring injury against Watford on Sunday, putting him in doubt for the rest of the season

Chelsea could have N’Golo Kante back from injury if they reach the Europa League final, says Maurizio Sarri.

The midfielder went off with a hamstring injury in the ninth minute of Chelsea’s Premier League clash against Watford on Sunday.

He is now set to miss the Blues’ European semi-final second leg against Eintracht Frankfurt but is targeting a potential return on May 29 should Chelsea progress on Thursday night. 

Sarri previously took responsibility for the 28-year-old’s injury, but Kante refused to blame his manager.

Speaking at a news conference ahead of the semi-final, Sarri said: “Kante had a problem with his hamstring, not really a very serious one but he needs to rest for a couple of weeks. So we can try to recover him only in case we reach the final.”

Probed further on whether the France international was likely to overcome the injury in time for the final, Sarri added: “We can try. I am not sure, but we can try.”

Chelsea secured Champions League qualification for next season after Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton on Sunday ensured the Blues will not finish outside of the top four in the Premier League.

But, with the winner of the Europa League also being awarded 2019-20 Champions League qualification, Sarri insists his side’s league position has not affected their motivation ahead of their semi-final.

“We reached the target of the club, so we are really very happy with this.

“Now we have to play in another competition and the target is to reach the final – the first target – and the final target will be to win the competition. Our feeling is that we deserve to win a trophy, so it’s a very important match, of course.

“We have to play to win, without managing the results. That’s too dangerous (to do). It’s not easy because we play a very dangerous team, as we saw in the first leg.

“They are very dynamic and aggressive in the defensive phase, and dangerous in the offensive phase especially when they find spaces on the counter-attack. So it’s a dangerous match.”

If they progress, Chelsea will play either Arsenal or Valencia in the final. 

Click Here: kenzo online españa

The group overseeing Facebook’s digital currency project on Wednesday announced it is planning to pursue a payments license in Switzerland.

The Libra Association said it has asked the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to offer more insight into how the coin – called the “Libra” – will be regulated by the country’s government.

ADVERTISEMENT

The announcement comes as global regulators have ramped up their scrutiny and criticism of Libra, particularly taking issue with Facebook’s decision to position the Libra Association in Switzerland, a country known for its relatively lax financial regulatory environment.

Click Here: Cheap Golf Drivers

The Libra Association in the statement on Wednesday said Switzerland “offers a pathway for responsible financial services innovation harmonized with global financial norms and strong oversight.”

“Since our vision for the Libra project was announced 3 months ago, we have maintained our commitment that technology-powered financial services innovation and strong regulatory compliance and oversight are not in competition,” Dante Disparte, Libra Association’s head of policy and communications, said in a statement. “We are engaging in constructive dialogue with FINMA and we see a feasible pathway for an open-source blockchain network to become a regulated, low-friction, high-security payment system.”

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have zeroed in on the Swiss nonprofit that will run the Libra coin, ripping the decision as a method to bypass U.S. regulatory scrutiny.

“We cannot allow Facebook to run a risky new cryptocurrency out of a Swiss bank account without oversight,” Sen. Sherrod BrownSherrod Campbell BrownOn The Money: Senate spending talks go off the rails | Trump officials vow to reform Fannie, Freddie if Congress doesn’t act | Majority in poll see recession on the way Trump officials vow to reform Fannie, Freddie if Congress doesn’t act Hill editor-in-chief: Sanders has to ease fears among seniors on ‘Medicare for All’ MORE (Ohio), the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said after Libra was announced earlier this year.

The Libra Association and Facebook have insisted they will not launch the Libra coin until they have satisfied global financial regulators.

Facebook earlier this year unveiled its plans to launch Project Libra, a payments system based on a cryptocurrency supported by more than two dozen major corporations, including Uber, Mastercard, Spotify, Vodafone, Coinbase and the nonprofit organization Women’s World Banking.

Facebook said that the cryptocurrency project would be operated by the nonprofit Libra Association and remain separate from the social media platform.

Lawmakers from both parties on Capitol Hill have offered blistering rebukes of Facebook’s plan, saying the new financial system raises concerns over money laundering and even terrorism financing.

While Libra will be controlled by the Swiss nonprofit, the company will operate a virtual wallet called Calibra that is operated by a Facebook subsidiary and will be made available on Facebook’s messaging services WhatsApp and Messenger.

Yuji Zhang, a Chinese national detained by the U.S. Secret Service at President TrumpDonald John TrumpOnly Congress can end the China trade war quagmire Trump blasts Bolton: ‘He made some very big mistakes’ Trump seeks ban on flavored e-cigarettes MORE’s Mar-a-Lago resort in March, was reportedly convicted of trespassing and lying to federal agents in Florida federal court on Wednesday.

Click Here: Cheap Golf Golf Clubs

Zhang faces up to six years in prison, according to CNN. She was detained March 30 after being allowed into the club, mistaken for a relative of a member. While she initially said she had come to the South Florida property to swim, once inside she said she was attending a nonexistent event for Chinese American business leaders.

ADVERTISEMENT

“She lied to everyone to get onto that property,” U.S. Attorney Ronaldo Garcia told jurors during his closing statement Tuesday, CNN reported.

At the time of her arrest, Zhang had four cellphones, a flash drive, a laptop and an external hard drive. Federal prosecutors initially said the flash drive contained malware but have since backtracked from the claim.

Prosecutors argued it was clear that “anyone with common sense” would have understood they were entering a restricted area, presenting photographs of signs identifying security details and checkpoints on the property as well as messages from a person in China telling Zhang not to go to Mar-a-Lago because the event she had hoped to attend had been canceled.

The Secret Service said Zhang had also been carrying multiple Chinese passports, thousands of dollars in cash and a device used to detect hidden cameras.

Zhang continued to insist she had not lied, speaking alternately for herself and through court-appointed Mandarin translators, according to CNN.

“I followed the instruction. I went into the Mar-a-Lago to have a visit. So that’s what I want to say, and thank you for your attention,” Zhang told jurors.