Huawei CFO lawyer says Trump comments a 'salvo' in trade war
The IndependentSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Comments made by former U.S. President Donald Trump turned a senior executive for Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies, into a “bargaining chip” and “co-opted the extradition process,” her lawyers argued in a Canadian court Wednesday as they fought efforts to send her to the U.S.in which Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou the daughter of Huawei’s founder and the company’s chief financial officer, at Vancouver’s airport in late 2018. Defense lawyer Richard Peck pointed to a 2018 interview in which Trump was asked if he would be willing to intervene in Meng’s case if it would help secure a trade deal with China or aid U.S. security interests. His words amount to an abuse of process.” Peck said the “abhorrent nature of the president’s words” put a stain on the extradition proceedings and the Canadian justice system. Peck also pointed to comments made by Canadian Prime Minister Justice Trudeau in December 2019, where he said the U.S. should not sign a trade deal with China unless the case of Meng and two Canadians being held in China was settled.