NEVADA, PARTICULAR VOTERS OF COLOR WHO HAVE NOT SUPPORTED
EITHER OF THEIR CAMPAIGNS.
THAT EFFORT STARTS TONIGHT.
>> U.S. PROSECUTORS PRESSING
CHARGERS AGAINST CHINESE TELECOM
GIANT HUAWEI, NBC CORRESPONDENT
INVESTIGATIONS TOM WINTER JOINS
US NOW.
US NOW. YOUR PIECE COMES ON AN
INDICTMENT AND AN ALLEGATION
THAT HUAWEI SET UP A SHELL
COMPANY.
COMPANY. >> Reporter: YES, THE KEY DETAIL
IS THAT SKY COM ESSENTIALLY MADE
REPRESENTATIONS TO THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT AND U.S. FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS THAT THIS IS
SOMEHOW NO LONGER A COMPANY THAT
WAS ASSOCIATED WITH HUAWEI, THAT
THEY HAD BEEN SOLD, IT WAS A
THIRD PARTY.
THIRD PARTY. WHILE, YES, THEY WERE DOING
BUSINESS IN IRAN AND THEY WERE
DOING BUS WESINESS WITH HUAWEI,
IT IS NOT TRUE AT ALL.
ACCORDING TO THE ALLEGATION
TODAY, BY SETTING UP THE COMPANY
THEY ESSENTIALLY ALLOWED THE
COMPANY TO PURCHASE U.S. GOODS,
U.S. PRODUCTS AND EMPLOY AT
LEAST ONE U.S. CITIZEN ACCORDING
TO THE INDICTMENT, SOMETHING
THAT’S ILLEGAL.
THAT’S ILLEGAL. TODAY PROSECUTORS ARE ADDING THE
NEW DETAIL BACK IN 2009 YOU
REMEMBER THE PROTESTS GOING ON
IN TEHRAN, SIGNIFICANT PROTESTS,
VIOLENT PROTESTS THAT OCCURRED
THERE, THAT HUAWEI WAS HELPING
THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT,
ACCORDING TO THE ALLEGATIONS, TO
SPY ON THE PROTESTERS, TO
IDENTIFY WHO THEY WERE AND TO
PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION
OBVIOUSLY THROUGH ELECTRONIC AND
TELEPHONE NETWORK TO THE IRANIAN
GOVERNMENT.
GOVERNMENT. >> HUAWEI HAS A BIG PR ARM,
THEY’VE BEEN TRYING TO GET IN
THE U.S. MARKET.
THEY HAVE A GLOBAL PR ARM.
WHAT WAS UNVEILED?
>> Reporter: WE CAN SHOW YOU THE
FULL STATEMENT.
FULL STATEMENT. IT IS A FULL-THROATED DENIAL OF
THESE ALLEGATIONS TODAY.
THEY SAY THAT THE DEPARTMENT IS
TRYING TO HARM HUAWEI’S
REPUTATION AND THAT BASICALLY,
LOOK, THESE WERE LEGITIMATE
BUSINESSES WE WERE DOING.
HOW COULD WE BE INVOLVED IN
RACKETEERING?
RACKETEERING? ONE OF THE BIG QUESTIONS THAT
CAME OUT IS THE THEFT OF TRADE
SECRETS, DAVID, AND THAT’S
SOMETHING THAT THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT IS TAKING VERY
SERIOUSLY AND SOMETHING THAT
THEY’VE REALLY GONE AFTER HUAWEI
IN THE NEW CHARGES.
>> CERTAINLY HAVE SEEN IN THE
OTHER SITUATIONS RECENTLY WITH
HARVARD’S CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT,
THE NEW FOCUS OF THE STATE
DEPARTMENT ON INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY AND THEFT.
WHAT OF THE TIMING HERE?
THIS HAS BEEN IN THE WORKS FOR A
WHILE.
WHILE. SHOULD WE MAKE ANYTHING OF WHEN
IT WAS RELEASED TODAY?
>> Reporter: I THINK TO PIGGY
BACK OFF SOMETHING YOU SAID, THE
U.S. GOVERNMENT, THE FBI, THE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND OTHER
U.S. INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES ARE
KEENLY AWARE CHINA IS CONDUCTING
AN INCREDIBLE OPERATION, ONGOING
OPERATION AND HAS BEEN FOR THE
BETTER PART FOR AT LEAST A
DECADE OF TAKING U.S.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TRADE
SECRETS, THAT THE OPPORTUNITY TO
REVIEW AN FBI MEMORANDUM ON THIS
TOPIC WHERE U.S. COMPANIES
ESSENTIALLY ARE SAYING, LOOK, WE
BRING A NEW PRODUCT TO MARKET.
WE KNOW IF THERE’S A
MANUFACTURING COMPONENT THAT IS
OCCURRING IN CHINA, OR JUST
SOMETHING, A TECHNOLOGY THAT THE
CHINESE WOULD LIKE, THAT WE HAVE
MAYBE THREE TO FOUR QUARTERS
BEFORE WE LOSE THAT PRODUCT, WE
LOSE THAT COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.
IT IS SOMETHING REALLY SCARY FOR
U.S. BUSINESSES AND THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT TO SEE THIS REAL
BRAIN DRAIN ESSENTIALLY.
NOT LITERALLY PEOPLE MOVING TO
CHINA BUT U.S. IDEAS, U.S.
RESEARCH ALL GOING TO CHINA.
IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS OF
TREMENDOUS CONCERN TO THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT.
GOVERNMENT. IT WAS PART OF THE NEW CHARGES
TODAY, AS YOU MENTIONED WE’VE
SEEN A REAL FOCUS ON THAT OVER
THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, VERY
PUBLIC PRONOUNCEMENTS IN NAMING
AND SHAMING, IF YOU WILL, BY THE
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. >> WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE U.S.
AND HUAWEI?
AND HUAWEI? I SAY RELATIONSHIP NOT WITH ANY
POSITIVE CONNOTATION, IT HAS
BEEN ADVERSARIAL AND DIFFICULT
FOR A LONG TIME, SUCH AS WHAT WE
SAW WITH THE 5G NETWORKS IN THE
UK AND EUROPE.
HOW DOES IT CHANGE THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO
ENTITIES?
ENTITIES? >> Reporter: I THINK IT
CONTINUES TO SHOW THE CONTRAST
THAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS AN
HUAWEI HAS.
HUAWEI HAS. HUAWEI IS SAYING, LOOK, WE ARE
UNFAIRLY PAINTED AND TARGETED.
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IS SAYING,
LOOK, WE HAVE DIRECT LAWSUITS
FROM SIX U.S. COMPANIES GOING
BACK TO ABOUT 2000 SAYING THEIR
INFORMATION, THEIR TECHNOLOGY
WAS STOLEN.
WAS STOLEN. ONE OF THE THINGS THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT IS VERY CLEAR IN NOW
IS NOT SAYING, WELL, THEY DID
SOME STUFF WITH IRAN OR HAD A
SUBSIDIARY IN IRAN.
THAT WAS IN THE INITIAL
INDICTMENT.
INDICTMENT. IN THE SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT WE
GET NEW DETAILS ABOUT WHAT WAS
GOING ON WITH THE PROTEST IN
2009.
2009. WE GET NEW DETAILS ABOUT HOW
THEY WERE CHANGING OR MAKING
SURE THEIR LOGOS WEREN’T PUT ON
PRODUCTS THAT WERE GOING TO
NORTH KOREA.
NORTH KOREA. IF THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT THE
U.S. GOVERNMENT IS SAYING, HEY,
WE’RE NOT GOING TO BE COY AND
SAY THEY DID BUSINESS WITH NORTH
KOREA AND IRAN AND WE DON’T LIKE
IT, THEY WILL BE SPECIFIC ABOUT
THE EXAMPLES.
THE EXAMPLES. THEY CITED SPECIFIC EXAMPLES
THOUGH THEY DIDN’T NAME THE
COMPANIES, THEY CITED VERY
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES WHERE THE
INFORMATION WAS TAKEN FROM THREE
NEW COUNTS, IN TOTAL 16 COUNT
INDICTMENT THEY NOW HAVE AGAINST
THEM.
THEM. IT IS NOT INSIGNIFICANT AND
THEY’RE MAKING IT VERY CLEAR TO
THE REST OF THE WORLD EXACTLY
WHAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT THINKS
OF IT AND EXACTLY MAYBE WHAT THE
U.S. GOVERNMENT WILL THINK OF