Feature, Musings —09.24.2021 04:36 PM
—My latest: she’s free. They needed to be free before now.
Meng Wanzhou, who did wrong, goes free.
The two Michaels, who didn’t, remained imprisoned until tonight.
Welcome to justice in the Justin Trudeau era: the guilty win, and the innocent lose.
It all happened yesterday, a Friday afternoon, which is typically when governments do the dirtiest deeds, in the hope that fewer will notice. But we noticed.
Here’s what happened: as this newspaper has previously reported, Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was facing prosecution for bank and wire fraud charges in the United States — for allegedly lying about Huawei’s business dealings in Iran.
She was detained at Vancouver’s airport in 2018, at the request of American authorities, and was facing extradition to the U.S. And she’s been fighting extradition ever since.
Huawei, meanwhile, was charged by the Americans with operating as a criminal enterprise, stealing trade secrets and defrauding financial institutions. It has pleaded not guilty and still faces prosecution.
But Meng Wanzhou isn’t anymore. U.S. Justice Department officials reached a deferred prosecution agreement on Friday afternoon with Meng Wanzhou that freed her from house arrest in Canada and enabled her to jet back home to China.
It was, the Washington Post dryly noted, “a major development in an ongoing investigation that could have geopolitical implications.”
It sure could. But not, apparently, for Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who were illegally imprisoned in China on bogus charges of espionage for more than 1,020 days.
Spavor and Kovrig — whose family members allege have faced torture — remained behind bars. Any attempts by the government of Justin Trudeau to secure their freedom had failed, utterly.
Pointing out that the Trudeau regime is useless internationally isn’t really front-page news, of course. Trudeau’s efforts internationally have been a laundry list of abject failure: he failed to get a seat on the United Nations security council.
He failed to boost foreign investment in Canada. He failed to rebuild our reputation as peacekeepers in international hotspots. Internationally, Trudeau has led Canada to defeat after defeat.
The Meng Wanzhou deferred prosecution agreement is yet more evidence of that. How in God’s name can she be permitted to go free, and the two Michaels weren’t before now? How could Trudeau permit the Joe Biden administration to cook up such a deal without addressing the plight of our own citizens before now?
Under the so-called deferred prosecution deal, federal prosecutors agreed to defer — and then ultimately drop — the charges against Meng.
To anyone who has followed this sordid affair, it has been obvious that the imprisonment of the two very innocent Michaels was China’s petulant and illegal response to the detention of Meng Wanzhou — even though Meng’s “detention” was mere house arrest and included plenty of posh shopping sprees and high-end jaunts around British Columbia’s Lower Mainland.
Trudeau, now returned to power with a mere minority, was immediately under more pressure than ever before to secure the freedom of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. The single largest roadblock to their release had been removed.
Would Trudeau try? Would he be successful?
Joe Biden was. The two Michaels are coming home because of him. Not Justin Trudeau.
— Kinsella was special assistant to Jean Chretien
Biden probably didn’t even take Himself’s phone call, if they made a call. Why am I not surprised. The Biden Administration — at least their Secretary of State — was supposed to continue to go to bat for us with China. So they deserve a good part of the blame as well.
Meh. Wonder what’s on Netflix. No surprise.
It’s no surprise this didn’t happen before Election Day.
Somehow I don’t think our PM has much clout in Washington, or is held in much regard. However, there may be another shoe to drop over the next day or two on this matter hopefully. I have my fingers crossed.
There were no Canadian charges against her. She was released because she was being held for extradition to the United States and the United States withdrew the extradition request. Nothing to do with Justin Trudeau or the political part of government.
Yet it was Canadian citizens that were taken hostage in retaliation. It had to do with Canada because the US is our closest ally. And under Trudeau’s watch, that relationship has suffered.
Uhm – as you were typing this article the two Michaels were getting on a plane and coming home to Canada. Given your comments I take it that your next article will praise the incredible work that Trudeau and his government’s agents have done to bring these two men home.
This deal was done in Brooklyn and Washington. Not Ottawa.
News announced that Meng Wanzhou was free to return to China, but they did not announce the return of Spavor and Kovrig. Warren rightfully started fighting for release of our people as soon as it was clear China got what they wanted.
If China was smart they would read The WAR Room so as not to annoy Warren.
RW
WJ,
I know nothing about immigration law, much less extradition law but surely someone out there can tell us if someone can be detained in a Canadian prison while a foreign extradiction request is being adjudicated. The Michaels rotted in horrible prison conditions while Meng lived in two mansions…
There’s not a chance Justin or his staff were trusted with any details of this deal before it was announced. He is a non player. A vague after thought. A silly technicality that everyone has to put up with so that Canadian voters can continue imagining that they have a valid head of government.
Well, they’re on their way home.
I guess all the armchair diplomats who wanted the PM to lob more tomatoes across the Pacific had no idea of the delicate work going on behind the scenes. The Michaels are free now and you can’t say the Canadian government, and that includes the PM had nothing to do with it.
Ted,
I think the Michaels thenselves will give us all a good idea of what Canada’s efforts were and to what extent they were effective, absent American pressure. Meanwhile, the PMO owes us a briefing on the other 117 Canadians still being held in China. Maybe it will come next week? After all, this Prime Minister said Canadians being detained in China is a top priority.
Wait, what?
I would say, in answer to your ‘delicate work’, that if anything our PM was caught by surprise; he didn’t acknowledge the story until after it was reported that the bitch Meng was on her way home and that the Michaels had shown up in Calgary.
She had the gall to give an interview before she left, though. About how she had been snatched from her family and her country (because she was acting for the CCP and its many wings). About how she was forbidden to return home. Look for the message here-
Canadians put one of theirs in a mansion in Vancouver, they put two of ours in the morgue. It’s embarrassing, straight up.
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/terry-glavin-4
I am saying that the Canadian government had nothing to do with it. Most Canadians agree.
Personally: I don’t think Trudeau even wanted them back in the first place and he’s got to be hurting right now.
Thank God. Now it remains to be seen who they’ll sue.
Next up; Trudeau’s government announces a major deal with Hauwei for computers and network services.
Our government said it did not make concessions in order to secure the release of the two Michaels.
Bullsh*t.
Question is, what were the concessions that JT made?
Peter,
Even this government is not THAT stupid. They would get us kicked out of Five Eyes if we did that and Canada must never put that a risk.
Do you think Trudeau gives a darn about five eyes?
I think he would prefer the jobs and money that comes with Huawei contract, especially if the jobs are in Montreal.
The Liberals will tell five eyes that they’ve put enhanced security measures in place (i.e. pieces of paper).
Would anyone in the media object to a Huawei contract? They’d jeopardize their government subsidies, or run afoul of the new Bill C10.
Why is the govt of JT waffling on Huawei then?…I could see it while the two Michaels were being held hostage…but now its sh*t or get off the pot time….
PJH,
The Yanks have gone for the neutron bomb and I hope it works. We don’t need to be frozen out of NATO, NORAD and everything else. The CSE is on the same wavelength as the Americans.
Bingo!
Why is he waffling? I would say that he is grooming the Canadian public to get them used to the idea of accepting the Chinese tech giant. IMHO. He’s good at grooming people
Now that this shameful episode is over, maybe our PM can take some realistic steps to demonstrate we will not be pushed around by the Communists in China. Prohibiting the sale of Huawei products and technology in Canada from mainland China would be a start.
CSIS warned us for years about China.
Security Advisor Dick Fadden was fired when he told Trudeau that many Lib MPs were China’s tools.
Quote; ‘ Canada’s academic, political and civil institutions are riddled with foreign influence-peddlers and agents and proxies and hackers.’
Face it, Trudeau and his minions will do anything to protect their Chicom pals & the LPC and Trudeau Foundation donations from them. They let the Michaels rot in jail for two years and defended Beijing on Covid causes. Read John Manthorpe’s Claws of the Panda.
JH,
This Prime Minister is certainly no George Smiley now is he? So that brings us to the obvious question: what’s the leverage they have on Canada and it’s about WHO???
I’ve always wondered if it was about the old man and his connection to Mao. Trudeaus in general always seem to love dictators and you have to wonder if that famous trip with Jacques Hebert in their younger days, when they were far left Dippers, somehow compromised them and the legacy. LPC head honchos wouldn’t want that made public, hence the kid glove treatment by Jr. & his minions.
ZhungGuo couldnt give a rat’s ass about 小土豆 “little potato”…..
JT will no doubt allow Huawei to bid kaff done deal kaff on equipment for Canada’s 5G network….
Is it any wonder why the US, Australia, and the UK left Canada out of their defense pact?….
We are a vassal of ZhungGuo, nothing more….
The whole Meng arrest scheme was a foreign policy operation by the United States to test the loyalty of the Laurentian establishment in Canada as too whose side they are really on.
We pretty much know China has compromised our Lauentian establishment, so the Americans are going to keep testing them.
More and more is going to be demanded of Canada by the Americans.
The Laurentian establishment’s business ties (from all those Chretien Team Canada trips) and China’s tentacles into Canadian universities are all going to be challenged and probed by the United States.
Our elites and academics are going to be forced to choose, rather than be allowed to continue to play both sides.
The funny thing Huawei is really Nortel, stolen out from under us with corporate espionage, while China was offering lucrative business partnerships to our Laurentian establishment and to our universities to look the other way.
I was reading the story about the release of the two Michaels on the G&M website. You go to the comments section, and it’s disgusting how obviously riddled with CCP trolls it is.
Terry Glavin hits it out of the park.
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/terry-glavin-4
100% here. I posted it above before seeing this.
Lo Mein noodles?! Fuck that!
Of course, Biden better beware on international trade: they are trying to block the PRC’s formal request to join CPTPP. We have no choice but to let them in, otherwise war will be almost inevitable. There is no legitimate basis to freeze them out. Biden should spend his time instead concentrating the mind on getting the United States back in.
The timing by the Americans is a mystery. Did they want PMJT to lose the election?
Ken,
My guess, and it’s precisely that is that the answer is the opposite. They did not want to influence the election result and face the wrath of at least one political party for “interfering” or “influencing” voters in the election. So they likely consulted the incumbent government and then played it safe until it was clear that this Prime Minister’s government had been returned to office.