US Justice Department seeks to disqualify Huawei's lawyers

Reuters reported that last week, prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice proposed to disqualify James Cole from serving as Huawei's legal representative in a case involving alleged bank fraud. In response to the motion, the person involved stated that there was a conflict of interest between his previous work as deputy attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice and serving as Huawei's legal representative, and he might lose his qualifications to defend Huawei's case.

      The U.S. Department of Justice did not disclose the specific reason for this motion. However, a copy of the U.S. motion filed in the Brooklyn District Court revealed the reason for the motion. The U.S. Department of Justice believes that James Cole may use the "confidential information" obtained during his tenure as deputy attorney general to advance Huawei's defense strategy, which may be a "significant risk."

      According to reports, the US authorities insist that Skycom, Huawei's business partner, is an unofficial subsidiary of Huawei that trades goods, technology and services banned by the US in Iran, and accuse Huawei of transferring funds through international banks. In order to avoid possible "significant risks", the US Department of Justice took the initiative and unilaterally filed this motion.

      U.S. prosecutors said that James Cole, as a lawyer for Huawei, may use relevant information he has in his government work to violate his duties to the Justice Department.

      But Reuters reported that the U.S. government knew James Cole was representing Huawei since 2017. Now, two years later, the Justice Department is trying to decertify Huawei's lawyers while hiding the reasons for its motion from Huawei and the public.

      This unexplained motion was proposed at a time when China and the United States are trying to negotiate a trade agreement. Is this an attempt at provocation or is it truly a show of confidence?