Donald Trump will have final say in Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou’s case, says former US federal prosecutor
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US President Donald Trump, who has made it known he may step into the Justice Department’s case against Huawei Technologies chief financial officer Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, will have the final say on her fate, a former US federal prosecutor said.
Nelson Cunningham, an assistant US attorney in the Southern District of New York from 1988-1994, told the South China Morning Post that the president had the “ultimate discretion” to decide on whether to pursue or drop a federal case.
“The president ultimately sets prosecution policy for the United States. In other words, the president could legitimately say [to the Justice Department] – this is the way that I would like this prosecution to be handled,” he said.
“That is under the constitutional structure. He is the boss and that chain of command goes down. When you get into international matters, of course he also has great discretion.”
Cunningham is also a former special adviser to former US president Bill Clinton on Western Hemisphere affairs.