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Federal prosecutors want to disqualify the former deputy attorney general who defends Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies in a bank fraud case because the government believes that its earlier work has created a conflict of interest.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Brooklyn, prosecutors said that the lawyer, James M. Cole, should not be allowed to represent Huawei because he had been informed of an undisclosed investigation while he was one of the leading prosecutors of the Obama administration.
Since the deposit is redacted, it is difficult to determine the exact nature of the investigation. But Cole's tenure in the Justice Department – from the end of 2010 to the beginning of 2015 – may have overlapped with the period when the federal authorities were gathering information about Huawei and its trading relationships.
Cole is now Co-Head of White Collar and Investigations at Sidley Austin Law Firm. A spokeswoman for the firm did not respond Friday to requests for comment on the disqualification attempt.
Huawei had stated that she "would vigorously oppose the government's motion" and that there was no reason to "deny her constitutional rights to Huawei". The company did not respond to requests for comments made on Friday.
The attempt to disqualify Mr. Cole is unusual; considerate corporations generally have the right to be represented by a lawyer of their choice. But it was not a surprise.
Last week, federal prosecutors informed the judge in the case, Ann M. Donnelly, that they had filed a sealed petition to disqualify Mr. Cole. The letter offered no reason, but prosecutors said they would file a redacted version by Friday.
The 26-page redacted motion indicated that Mr. Cole had refused a challenge, and that his representation of Huawei "posed real and irremediable conflicts of interest".
Sidley Austin represents Huawei since at least 2017, when a subpoena was served to the company, and Mr. Cole was involved sometime later, according to the record. Prosecutors said that there could be "no assurance that Cole will not use, whether intentionally or unintentionally, information obtained" as part of the unidentified investigation.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn also accused Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer and daughter of its founder. In Canada, she is under house arrest in Canada in a $ 16 million mansion after her arrest in December. Federal prosecutors seek to extradite him to the United States.
The government claims Huawei and Ms. Meng have conspired to mislead HSBC and other banks about Huawei's relationship with a company called Skycom to circumvent US sanctions against Iranian companies. The company's lawyers and Ms. Meng deny the allegations.
In another case, Seattle's federal attorneys accused Huawei of stealing trade secrets. The company pleaded not guilty.
The lawsuits unfold while the United States and China are involved in difficult trade negotiations that led the The Trump administration will increase customs duties on Chinese goods worth $ 200 billion.
The case also sparked a split between China and Canada, with China arresting two Canadians on espionage charges in retaliation for Ms. Meng's arrest.
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