Super Bowl selfie emerges of Trump with founder of spa tied to New England Patriots owner’s charges

A selfie-style photo from President Trump’s annual Super Bowl watch party emerged on Friday showing the president with the founder of a chain of Florida spas — including the one where New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with soliciting prostitution.

Trump and Kraft are longtime friends, and the president famously roots for the Patriots. 

Kraft was busted in a prostitution ring on Feb. 22 at one of the spas founded by 45-year-old Li Yang, one of the women in the selfie with Trump.

Yang sold the spa, now called the Orchids of Asia Day Spa, in 2013.

The Feb. 3 photo obtained by the Miami Herald appears to be taken sometime during the Super Bowl party at Trump’s West Palm Beach county club. The Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams in the big game.

{mosads}The president is seen smiling for a photo with two women at a table behind him. One of the women photographed in the selfie was Yang, according to the Herald. 

It is unclear if Trump knows Yang or the other woman in the photo, which looks like the kind of selfie Trump probably frequently gets requested to take with fans. 

Kraft was arrested less than three weeks after the photo was taken. 

Yang was not charged in the anti-human trafficking operation conducted last month, the Herald noted. Ten Asian day spas were shut down in the sting, but none were registered to her or her family.

She told the Herald in what it described as a brief phone interview that she and her family have not broken the law and that she was out of the spa business. 

Kraft, 77, was charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution after police said he was captured on video soliciting the illicit activities at the spa. He has since pleaded not guilty. 

Trump said he was “surprised” to see the charges against his longtime friend and called the situation “very sad.”

Yang previously showed no political engagement before Trump ran for office in 2016, having not voted for the 10 years prior to his White House bid, The Herald reported.

The businesswoman has since attended several Republican political events, including being invited to the White House in February 2018 for an event hosted by the Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative, an advisory commission Trump established by executive order the year before.

Her Facebook page includes a signed photograph of her standing next to the president. 

Additional images show her posing with Republican Sen. Rick Scott, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the president’s adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric.

In addition to attending Republican fundraisers and galas, often clutching a rhinestone encrusted “MAGA” purse, the Herald found records of Yang’s political contributions.

Yang and her close relatives have donated more than $42,000 to Trump Victory, a political action committee, and more than $16,000 to the Trump campaign, the newspaper reported.

– This story was updated at 2:54 p.m. to correctly reflect the timing and location of Kraft’s arrest