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President Trump To Use Huawei CFO As a Bargaining Chip (politico.com)
hackingbear shares a report from Politico, adding: "This fuels the suspicion that the Chinese executive is held as a hostage for the ongoing trade negotiation with China." From the report: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he reserved the right to weigh in on the Justice Department's case against the CFO of Huawei, if it would help him close a trade deal with Beijing or would serve other American national security interests. "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," Trump told Reuters. Trump added that President Xi Jinping of China had not called him about the case, but that the White House had been in touch with both the Justice Department and Chinese officials. Huawei's CFO, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Canada earlier this month at the request of American authorities, who allege that she violated U.S. sanctions against Iran. Yesterday, a Vancouver judge ruled that Meng would be released on a $7.5 million bail if she remains in British Columbia.
This seems like a dangerous/crazy step to take. How does this type of negotiation tactic end? (ie - has someone thought out the likely reactions and steps the Other Side is likely to take?) What's to stop other countries from following suit?
Traditional diplomacy rested on a sort of 'gentleman's agreement'. While some of that diplomacy took forever and yielded less than we wished, at least (on the surface) it was civilized and seemed to prevent harm. Our current course could get unpleasant quickly.
Or am I just overthinking this?
That seems like a pretty unhealthy precedent to set.
Especially odd considering Trumps penchant for thinking things through and considering all the options and future consequences of his thoughts and actions. Quite off his game, I'd say. Perhaps he's distracted. Then again, I don't play 4D chess and can't perhaps see the lack of downsides to this going forward.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
If he understood power politics he would have never made this announcement. He may have just thrown away any chance that Canada will actually agree to extradite her. This is incompetence politics.
Nah, this is straight out of the N-Korean playbook, take hostages and use them as bargaining chips to extract concessions. Kind of a new low for the US though.
Indeed.
Canada acted in good faith in accordance with international law. Canada's politicians do not have the ability to tell the legal system what to do, because it's independent.
If Canada has been played in Trump's pissing contest with China ... and certainly Trump is suggesting he'd exert influence over the US legal system to get his way .. then I agree with this entirely, and hopefully the judiciary deems that since the US didn't act in good faith we consider the matter dropped.
This is no different from Russian sending out INTERPOL red notices to suppress dissent.
Trump seems to be literally suggesting he'd actively pressure the department of justice to either stage this, or to drop charges.
This is some scary shit, and if this is the kind of ally the US is, then I will likely never go there again. The US is on a path of becoming a very scary and dangerous nation in terms of what it is willing to do with its friends to prove a point.
Fuck you, America.
She is not part to a political struggle — she is not even a US citizen. She may be part of a trade-war between countries, but that's not political at all.
How is a trade war not political?
He said nothing of the kind. The media's disease of putting words into Trump's mouth has, evidently, infected their best customers...
Damn fake news at it again! Putting words in Trump's mouth by printing them verbatim!!
He said, he might allow her to go, if China cooperates — the charges are perfectly real and not political.
The arrest didn't seem to be political, but now she's in custody Trump is talking about using the charges for political gain.
On the one hand that could mean "we got a deal, drop all charges!!"
But it could also mean "I don't care if the case is falling apart, I need the leverage! Keep her in custody!!"
Hence the reason why a Canadian Judge, even if they think the charges are legitimate, could refuse the extradition request on the grounds she won't be subjected to a fair legal process.
I stole this Sig
Canada should absolutely determine that the US extradition request was made in bad faith. Except... Now the Chinese have gone and disappeared a couple of Canadian citizens, which means we'll look like chumps if we give in to China. Thanks for involving us in your stupid pissing match, US and China.