Lawyers for Meng Wanzhou claim U.S. President Donald Trump has ‘poisoned’ extradition proceedings against the Huawei executive to the degree where the judge overseeing the hearing has no choice but to throw the case out.
Lawyers for Meng Wanzhou claim U.S. President Donald Trump has “poisoned” extradition proceedings against the Huawei executive to the degree where the judge overseeing the hearing has no choice but to throw the case out.
In court documents filed in advance of a September hearing, Meng’s defence team cites Trump’s history of intervening in high-profile criminal cases to claim he would have no hesitation to make good on his threat to use their client as a bargaining chip in a global trade war.
Lawyers for the Huawei chief financial officer also noted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s comments about two Canadians detained in China in apparent retaliation for Meng’s arrest.
The lawyers claim Meng, 48, has been left in the impossible position of fearing that any attempt to defend herself may affect either the Chinese economy or the lives of two men.
“These proceedings have been poisoned,” Meng’s lawyers claimed in a 28-page legal brief outlining their arguments.
“They can no longer be reasonably regarded as fair, regardless of the undoubted good faith of the court.”
Trump says he would ‘certainly intervene’
Meng was arrested on an extradition warrant on Dec. 1, 2018, after landing in Vancouver on what was supposed to be a layover between Hong Kong and Mexico City.
The U.S. wants to extradite Meng to New York to face charges of fraud and conspiracy.
She is accused of lying to banks about Huawei’s relationship with a company accused of violating U.S. economic sanctions against Iran. Prosecutors claim Meng’s alleged lies placed banks at risk of loss and prosecution.
The latest legal arguments are grounded in a statement Trump made to a reporter less than two weeks after Meng’s arrest in which he was asked if he would intervene i