A Canadian court on Tuesday, December 11, granted bail to Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou as she awaits possible extradition to the United States. Meng was arrested December 1 by Canadian authorities at the behest of the U.S. on charges that she misled banks about Huawei’s relationship with a firm that attempted to sell U.S. products to Iran in defiance of the ban on such sales (see “U.S. seeks to charge Huawei CFO with bank fraud”). Meanwhile, President Donald Trump told Reuters reporters that he would consider intervening in the case if he thought it would result in favorable trade agreements with China or otherwise be in the best interests of the U.S.
At the conclusion of the third day of bail hearings on Tuesday, Justice William Ehrcke granted C$10 million ($7.5 million) bail for Meng, according to reports. She must wear an ankle monitor and remain in her home (she has two in Vancouver) from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Five of Meng’s friends pledged C$3 million of the bail total in home equity and other money as a guarantee she will not jump bail. Meng must return to court February 6, 2019, to plan for other court appearances.
Those appearances would hinge on the U.S. filing a formal extradition request, something U.S. authorities have yet to do. In an interview with three Reuters reporters, President Trump said he would consider intervening in the case (presumably on Meng’s behalf) “if it would serve national security interests or help close a trade deal with China,” in the words of the Reuters article.
“Whatever’s good for this country, I would do,” President Trump is quoted as saying when asked if he would intervene with the Justice Department. “If I think it’s good for what will be certainly 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.”
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