Trump comments about Meng a ‘salvo’ in trade war: lawyer
VANCOUVER — A lawyer for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou accused former U.S. president Donald Trump of co-opting her extradition proceedings in an effort to use her as leverage in trade negotiations with China.
Richard Peck told B.C. Supreme Court Wednesday that Trump’s words to media after Meng’s arrest amount to an abuse of process.
“The only words that will dilute what we say is a stain on these proceedings and on Canada’s justice system is a stay of proceedings,” Peck said, launching the first of several arguments Meng’s team will make in the coming weeks seeking her release.
Meng was arrested at Vancouver’s airport on Dec. 1, 2018, at the request of U.S. officials on charges of fraud that both she and Huawei deny.
Ten days after her arrest, Trump was asked if the U.S. would intervene in Meng’s case to get a better deal with China.
“If I think it’s good for what will be the largest trade deal ever made — which is a very important thing — what’s good for national security, I would certainly intervene if I thought it was necessary,” Trump told Reuters news agency.
The comment did not exist in isolation, but was the first in a string of repeated statements that demonstrate an ulterior motive, Peck said.
“With that utterance, Ms. Meng became a bargaining chip, a pawn in this economic contest between these two superpowers. Those words amount to the opening salvo in this trade war,” Peck told the court.
But a lawyer for the attorney general of Canada, who represents the United States in the case, said the argument is irrelevant now that Trump is out of office, the trade deal is done and there’s been no evidence of intervention.
Robert Frater said even if that weren’t the case, Trump’s “vague” comments do not support an abuse of process allegation.
“They never had a basis for this argument,” Frater told the court. “There’s nothing remotely threatening in what he said.”
Wednesday marked the beginning of arguments by Meng’s legal team that claim she was subjected to an abuse of process in four different ways and that the proceedings against her should be stayed if any is proven.
The case culminates with the actual extradition hearing in May.
Peck told the court that Trump’s words came in the context of a long-brewing technological race with China in which Huawei threatened to dominate 5G networks worldwide.
They cast a pall over court proceedings, reducing Meng from a human being to “chattel” and striking at the heart of human dignity, he said.
“In the annals of extradition law, it appears to be the first time the head of a requesting state has commented directly on the plight of a person sought” and publicly stated a willingness or intent to intervene for any reason, let alone an economic one, Peck said.
Peck gave several other examples that he said adds to the cumulative effect of Trump’s initial comment on the case.