| Guo Wengui With Bannon Cited
Sued Strategic Vision & Invokes 5th on Who
Pays His Lawyer
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive Patreon
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
April 22 – Guo Wengui's
Eastern Profit Corporation
sued Strategic Vision US LLC,
in a sealed
complaint.
On October
5, 2020 U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of
New York Judge Lewis J. Liman
held a proceeding. Inner City
Press live tweeted it, here
and below.
On March 31
after Steve Bannon got a
pardon from then-President
Trump, Judge Liman held
another conference, and Inner
City Press again covered it.
As the
parties prepared to go to
(bench) trial, Eastern
Profit's lawyer asked to go
into a sealed courtroom. Judge
Liman asked for her proffer
and she said that a certain
witness - whom she left
unnamed - may well invoke the
Fifth Amendment right to not
incriminate oneself, that
there are criminal issues in
the air.
Inner City Press
has now published the
complaint on Patreon here;
the talk of the centrality of
the witness and the looming
but not current criminal
issues point in one direction.
On April 19, the bench trial
began and Inner City Press was there,
alone in the courtroom gallery,
while Strategic's Ms.
French Wallop was cross examined about, among
other things, trying to charge Eastern for
Hermes gifts.
The day ened
with J. Michael
Waller, who was
named on sign board
carried by dogged
demonstrators
on Worth
Street, where
they'd been when
Bannon was arraigned.
Inner City
Press live
tweeted, here
and
below.
On
April 22, in
the morning,
Guo remained on the
witness stand,
repeatedly
invoking the
Fifth
Amendment. Inner
City Press live
tweeted it here:
Day 4 begins
with Guo being
asked if he
and Bannon
have a joint
mission to get
rid of radical
cadre in CCP.
Q: Mr
Guo, were your
Hong Kong
assets frozen?
Guo: I'm
invoking the
Fifth
Amendment. Q:
Do you agree
that your
assets were
frozen not by
CCP, but by
High Court of
Hong Kong?
Guo:
I'm invoking
the 5th
Amendment.
Q: Is
this case
being run by
Golden Spring
New York? Guo:
I'm invoking
the 5th
Amendment.
Q:
Mr. Guo, did
you sue Mr.
Hong Quan Li
(sp) in the
District Court
in Maryland?
Guo:
Yes. Q: And
did you file
an affidavit?
Guo: I'm
invoking the
5th Amendment.
Lawyer: Your
Honor, I don't
think the 5th
applies to
public
filings. Judge
Liman: A
proffer?
Now
Guo: I don't
to go into
that, but if
you have a
question, I'll
answer it. Q:
Did it cost
you business
in Hong Kong
and on the
mainland? Guo:
I'm invoking
the Fifth
Amendment.
Q:
Mr. Guo, you
testified you
applied for
asylum. Guo:
Yes. Q: Han
assisted you
with the
application,
correct? Guo:
I don't
understand. Q:
Did he advise
you? Work on
the
application?
Guo: It is
hard to say.
Not in front
of me.
Q: Mr.
Guo, who is
the internal
lawyer you are
referring to?
Guo: They are
not here. Q:
What is their
name?
Guo: It
was Daniel...
He was Golden
Spring's
lawyer. Judge
Liman: He told
you about Ms.
Cline? Guo:
Yes. Q: Who
does he answer
to? Guo:
Golden Spring.
Q:
Mr. Guo, you
arranged the
wires of $1
million to
Strategic
Vision?
Guo:
I'm invoking
the 5th
Amendment. Q:
This is not a
good faith
invocation of
the 5th
Amendment.
Golden Spring
NY's lawyer
advises Mr Guo
about this
case. What's
the criminal
matter?
Q:
Mr. Guo, do
you recall
hearing from
Ms Yvette Wong
that Strategic
Vision had not
found
sufficient
information on
the 15
subjects? Guo:
I did not get
any info at
all. Q: Did
Strategic
Vision ask for
new names?
Guo: I don't
remember.
Q:
Yesterday's
witness Mr.
Han, does he
cook for you?
Guo: In China,
a man cooking,
it is a
virtue. Q: How
is he the boss
of Eastern
Profit? Have
you talked to
your daughter
about it? Guo:
No. I see her
very rarely.
Q: She is in
the US? Guo:
Yes.
Q:
Who is William
Je? Guo: I
invoke the 5th
Amendment.
[After a time,
relents] He is
probably the
head of ACA.
Q: Does he
sent money
when you ask
him? Guo: I am
invoking the
5th Amendment.
Judge
Liman is back.
He says that
he has heard
portions of
this morning's
proceedings on
YouTube. He is
asking the
U.S. Marshals
to
investigate,
for civil
contempt. He
has it
interpreted
into Chinese.
He asks
counsel if
they know
anything about
it. They say
No.
Q:
Mr. Guo, is
Golden Spring
paying for
that lawyer
next to you,
Mr. Klein with
a K?
Guo: I
am invoking
the 5th
Amendment.
Q:
Mr. Guo, you
have attempted
to influence
this trial?
Guo: I am only
a witness. Q:
Mr. Guo, have
you paid
anyone to
stand outside
the
courthouse?
Guo: Fifth
Amendment. Q:
Mr. Guo, have
you paid
anyone to sit
in this
courtroom?
Guo: Fifth
Amendment.
Q: You
say you get
information
about the CCP.
Do you share
it with the US
FBI, had you
before August
2019? Guo: I
cannot be
certain what
month we have
met. I was
requested by
FBI to not say
(when) we met.
They said to
say it would
be bad for my
family.
Now
they play
Guo's August
2019
deposition, in
which Guo says
he doesn't
remember if
he'd ever said
he had
contacts with
the CIA. Q:
What that
truthful? Guo:
It was at the
request that
the CIA told
me not to say.
Judge
Liman: We'll
take our lunch
break now, to
1:55. Be sure
you're ready.
Back on
April 21, at
the end of the
day, Guo himself
took the
stand. Here is
Inner City
Press' thread of
that:
Outside
the SDNY
courthouse
there are two
dozen Guo
supporters. A
witness in
this case
wrote in and
characterized
them as thugs
"surfing"
Chinatown
looking for
people to beat
up. Yet in the
gallery as the
trial began
there was only
Inner City
Press
an
additional
lawyer asks if
he can stand
in the
courtroom to
advise Mr. Guo
of his rights.
Guo is in jury
box with
lawyer. Inner
City Press in
gallery with
10 who came in
with Guo. He
calls himself
Kwok. Q: Are
you a
dissident? A:
Yes.
Guo /
Kwok uses word
genocide.
Young man in
suit in
gallery nods.
Inner City
Press
@innercitypress
· 1h Q: Any
retaliation?
Guo: 18 family
members
arrested. The
Minister of
Security came
to threaten me
in England.
Guo: I want to
tell the
judge, China
put my
relatives on
trial 11
times...
Broidy
was trying to
have me
deported.
Objection!
Calls for
narrative,
hearsay.
OK
- after Guo
conferred with
his "Fifth
Amendment"
counsel, it
continues. Q:
Did you feel
pressured to
act to protect
your family?
Guo: Of
course. I was
afraid.
Q: Did you
sign a
document
pledging
allegiance to
Chairman Xi?
Guo: I
signed four to
five times.
Q:
Can you
describe the
cyber attack?
Guo: At that
time, my wi-fi
was hacked. My
YouTube and
Twitter, both
were hacked.
Q: Was there a
law firm that
represented
you and got
hacked? Guo:
Yes. A firm in
Washington, an
immigration
firm. Q: Clark
Hill? Guo:
Yes.
Q:
Were you the
lead on
negotiating
the contract
[with
Strategic
Vision]? Guo:
No.
Judge Liman:
You say you
were going to
try them with
justice -
where did you
expect the
information
would lead to
charges? Which
court? Guo: We
would report
to US DOJ, US
FBI
[On
Strategic
Vision] Guo:
All they had
on the thumb
drive was
information
you could find
on Google,
information I
had already
found and used
in my
whistleblower
campaign. Q:
What about the
information on
the USB
drives? Guo:
It was
useless.
Q: Did
the work Mr.
Waller and Ms.
Wallop did
meet your
expectations
in any way?
Guo: No. It
was deception.
Q: Did you
continue on
with your
expose
program? Guo:
Yes, we have
continued to
expose the
CCP.
[Now
cross-examination]
Strategic
Vision's
lawyer Edward
Greim: You
came to the US
before 2017,
right?
You
claimed to
have fled
China when?
Guo: 2014,
December.
Greim: Weren't
you detained
in China then
released in
January 2015?
Guo: That's
rubbish.
Greim:
Mr Guo, you
currently have
Hong Kong
citizenship,
right? Guo:
Yes. Greim:
And a Hong
Kong passport?
Guo: Yes.
Greim: Between
2014, and
2017, where
were you? Guo:
In the UK, in
the US, Europe
and Japan.
Also UAE and
the Middle
East.
Greim:
You bought an
apartment in
the Sherry
Netherland in
2015, right?
Guo:
Under the 5th
Amendment I
will not
answer this
question.
Greim:
Is it true you
have not moved
a penny out of
Hong Kong or
the mainland
since you
began
whistleblowing?
Guo: I
am invoking
the 5th
Amendment.
Greim:
You had an
attorney say
that to the
WSJ.
Guo:
I'm invoking
the 5th
Amendment.
Greim:
Why did you
not begin
whistleblowing
until 2017?
Guo:
The Chinese
CCP arrested
my family and
continued into
2016. Starting
from January
2015, Broidy
and Bruno Wu,
JhoLo [?],
they called me
and threatened
my family
would be
arrested
Guo:
Bruno Wu
called me and
said, it was
Elliott Broidy
with influence
in the US...
they
threatened me.
Bruno is a
registered
person in
intelligence
for China
overseas.
Greim -
Mr. Guo!
Judge
Liman: The
question was
simple, did
they call you?
Greim:
Did you listen
to the court
proceedings
yesterday or
the day
before? Guo:
No. Greim: Has
anyone
discussed with
you the
testimony here
of Monday or
Tuesday?
Guo:
No. Judge
Liman: We'll
break for the
day. Mr. Guo,
you may leave.
I need a word
with the
lawyers
Judge
Liman: Will
Sasha Gong
testify
tomorrow? A:
Yes. Judge
Liman: And
we'll need to
hear on the
open question
as to Yvette
Wong.
Adjourned.
Previous:
Lawyer
for Eastern
Profit
Corporation
Limited says
Mr. Guo is a
"real
dissident,"
and that it
will be proved
at this trial.
Accuses
Strategic
Vision US LLC
of falsely
claiming Guo
*supports* Xi.
Eastern
Profit
Corporation
Limited wants
a judgment of
$1 million and
that
Strategic's
claims be
stricken.
The case,
in which Guo is also known as
Miles Kwok and in which now
SDNY criminal subject Stephen
K. Bannon is also listed, is
Eastern Profit Corporation
Limited v. Strategic Vision US
LLC, 18-cv-2185 (Liman)
***
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