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By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive Patreon
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SDNY COURTHOUSE, April 21 – 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 21, at the end of the day, Guo himself took the stand. Here is Inner City Press' thread from the day, here:

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

Q: Mr. Guo wanted an a-la-carte payment system, each payment per report? Wong: That was what I negotiated with Ms. Wallop. Q: Let's explore the water-line concept. Ms. Wallop wanted monthly payments to keep teams in the field, right? Wong: Only if qualified teams.

 Q: Where did you get your training before you went to Switzerland? Yvette Wong: I cannot tell you that. Q: Why not? Wong: I was never trained by the CCP. Period. Q: Where did you go to school? Wong: I cannot tell you.

 Q: Where did you grow up? Objection. Judge Liman: You asked about education so this is fair background. Q: Where did you grow up in China? Wong: Mainland of China. Q: College there? Wong: I cannot tell you.

 Q: Why not? Wong: To protect my family and myself, from persecution. Q: But if you were not trained by CCP, how can it expose your family?

Wong: What's your question? My family was already arrested. Now they will go after my classmates, my teachers

 Q: Did you receive any intelligence training in China? Wong: Of course not. That is ridiculous. Q: Did you spend 16 years in Hong Kong? Wong: I cannot tell you.

 Judge Liman: Are you refusing to answer that question? Wong: Yes, Your Honor. If I can. Q: How many years did you work for China Golden Spring in Hong Kong? Wong: Two to three. Q: Where else did you work? Wong: I cannot tell you.

Q: Isn't it true you were still a member of the CCP well into 2017? Wong: I said that to protect my family. I cannot say on camera I cut off CCP when my family still in jail. Q: You went on Mirror Media in New York. Wong: After my husband was arrested

 Q: And you said  you were in whistleblower movement - but still a CCP member? Wong: I was interviewed by a CCP media. What do you want me to say, with my husband in jail? [Note: the UN under  Antonio Guterres  gives 10 offices to CCP media, bans Inner City Press]

 Q: Would you allow funding of any project of Eastern Profit to be controlled by a member of CCP-CC? Wong: No. Q: How much do you know about "William Gee."

Wong: I trusted him as a CCP-fighter. Q: But he released $1M to Strategic.

 Q: Would it shock you to find out that "William Gee" is a member of CCP-CC? Wong: There are 90 million CCP members - they are normal people. So William Gee, he is fighting against CCP.

 Q: Did he tell you he was a member of a Chongqing - Hong Kong group? Wong: Unlikely. We do not talk about that. Judge Liman: We'll leave Ms. Wong's testimony open, so she can get another lawyer about possible incomplete statement to this court

 Next witness,  Han Chunguang, required interpreter. And there is another interpreter to check / contest the first. This could take a while. Where. Is. Guo.Q: So you were the owner of Eastern Profit? Han: Yes. Until June 27, 2017. I transferred it to "Guo Mei." But I continued with a role.

Q: Did Eastern Profit investigate the CCP? Han: Yes.

 Judge Liman calls lunch break, says the day may go a bit beyond 5 pm to get in as much testimony as possible.

Ok - Guo (Bannon) trial has re-started after hour-long lunch break, Han still on the stand, with interpreter. Q: So you are comfortable sending money to a company whose director is in mainland China - that is, for Eastern to return the money to ACA?

Han: Yes.Q: Are you a cook for Mr Guo? Han: No. Q: So where do you work? Han: I work for company of my family. Q: What is the name. Han: Han family. Q: You said in deposition you said it has nothing to do with this case? Han: Correct.

Q: Where is the office of your family company? Han: In China. Q: Was Eastern Profit's office in Hong Kong in the Bank of China building? Han: On the 49th floor. Natasha worked there.

Q: Did you meet William Gee in the Bank of China building? Han: I don't remember

 Judge Liman: Mr. Han, did you ever read this Research Agreement all the way through? Han: No.

 OK - now 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 thrown out. Now Strategic's opening statement: "Eastern is not a real business... It is a cut-out for Guo and for whoever else funds his US operations."

 Strategic is previewing not today's but tomorrow's testimony by Yvette Wong - relations of trying for "regime change on the Chinese mainland" on Hong Kong. 

Strategic's opening statement is still going, ranging from "passport fraud of a NATO ally" and a Panamanian bank account. "We'll learn about the follow up Waller did... flying back and forth to Europe getting thumb drives. They had located the servers of CITIC." 

Strategic's lawyer: Guo's entities were headquartered in Hong Kong, in the Bank of China building which the CCP uses for espionage beyond the mainland - a strange choice for a supposed dissident.

 Judge Liman says, During the break the parties should work with the court reporter, they didn't get down many of these Chinese names.

First witness, founder of Strategic Vision French Wallop, says it does not engage in surveillance, calls it due diligence. Then admits it contracts with others to do surveillance. The founder has no educational credentials about international affairs and commercial due diligence

Strategic's founder is asked about three lawsuits against it for non payment of legal fees.  Judge Liman says, Tread cautiously on attorney work product.

Judge Liman: Prior to the second amended complaint, did Strategic Vision every accuse Mr. Guo of being a double agent? Answer: No.

 Lawyer for Eastern: We believe that Strategy Vision's legal fees are being paid by Bruno Wu - this goes to the heart of the fraud claim.

Here in courtroom gallery for Guo / Eastern (Bannon) trial, Inner City Press is the only person. Cross exam of Strategic's founder, expensed Hermes, Cafe Milano, "a gift for Yvette" Defense: We're no longer seeking reimbursement for this

The day ended with J. Michael Waller testifying about being in Russia when the Soviet Union fell. The intrigue of if Guo opposes or secretly supports Xi remained in the air - with Guo to testify.

Also on the witness list: Yvette Wong, Han Chunguang, and Sasha Gong. List and more on Patreon here.

On April 20, Day 2, Waller finished, and Yvonne Wong began - still no Guo. Inner City Press live tweeted it here:

in Guo Wengui trial Day 2, Waller says big CCP members to get around the one-child policy had their extra child with other names - and used them to hide assets.

Judge Liman: Is there an anti-Xi faction in the CCP? Waller: At that time, yes. Xi was consolidating power. He would have his second in command as enforcer, carrying out the purge for Xi. Judge Liman: You were opposed to Xi? Waller: Yes.

Waller: We had an agreement with Guo that the payments would be through other countries so it couldn't be traced back to him. It was through his daughter.

Update of 11:19 am: Waller still on the stand, the questioning set to move into another area (from the dark web, etc); Judge Liman calls a break. Thread will continue. 

They're back - and Waller is talking about handing over info from the Dark Web, in Penn Station. Q: You say there were 16 lines of code, but some names were fake - did you convey this to Yvette? Waller: Yes. She said go get it anyway.

 Now Waller is being questions about FARA plea deal of Elliott Broidy, Paragraph 28: On May 18, 2019, Broidy etc traveled to the PRC and met PRC Minister A, about removal and return of Chinese National-1 "Objection!"

 Waller: You can't have guilty by association. Q: But he pled guilty to meeting with PRC Minister A.

Waller: I don't believe that's true. Judge Liman: I suggest you move along from this line, as the fact finder, I don't think this is the most powerful line

Waller: Broidy told me he met the PRC minister in order to try to free 3 hostages. Judge Liman: Did Mr. Broidy tell you that in the course of trying to free 3 American captives, he met with the person referenced in the plea agreement? Waller: He did not.

 Now Waller is done, with Judge Liman offering him thanks. Next witness... Yvette Wong.

Yvette Wong says Guo has live streamed more than 10,000 hours, that Twitter and YouTube shut him down. Q: Do you believe he actually supports the CCP? Wong: No, that is ridiculous. He has sacrificed. Judge Liman: I am allowing this as lay opinion testimony.

 And at 5 pm, the trial is over for the day. It's all about Guo - but no Guo yet. Watch this site.

Pre-trial on April 1 the filing of this: "Dear Judge Liman: Bob Fu should not be stricken from Strategic’s trial witness list. Dr. Fu was disclosed by name in Strategic’s findings of fact submitted with the original (proposed) Pretrial Order on October 30, 2020.1  Dr. Fu was not officially listed as a trial witness until January 29, 2021, for several compelling reasons. First, Strategic needed to confirm his willingness to travel to New York in the circumstances of this pandemic to testify about events that had just occurred in September and October 2020. Second, Strategic was hopeful that its proposed DX-98, which evidenced Guo’s attacks on Dr. Fu using Guo’s “GNews” outlet, would be admitted, but this Court ruled newspaper articles inadmissible in late December 2020, ECF 310, and Eastern has objected to that particular exhibit. Strategic’s handling of this witness has been justified and any result of the delay harmless for Eastern. Eastern has had almost three months to plan for Dr. Fu’s testimony, and no harm will come from allowing him to testify for 30 minutes about how Guo’s program of attacks on key Chinese dissidents in the U.S. finally came to Dr. Fu’s front door. To grant Eastern’s request to strike Dr. Fu will greatly prejudice Strategic Vision because Dr. Fu holds critical evidence supporting Strategic’s fraud claim that Guo Wengui misrepresented himself as a dissident of China intent on breaking the CCP’s control over that country. The representation induced Strategic and its China Hawk founder to sign a contract to provide services to Guo and Eastern (the company his daughter directs), services that Strategic never would have provided if Strategic had known that Guo is not a true dissident and holds sympathy for the CCP and its leadership. Dr. Fu’s testimony helps establish that Guo is not who he represented himself to be. 1. Strategic’s Fraud Claim Requires Proof that Eastern Made a Misrepresentation. Strategic intends to prove that the Research Agreement was procured by fraud. From the time French Wallop was first introduced to Guo by Bill Gertz and Lianchao Han through 1 See Ex. Oct. 30, 2020 communication from Eastern to the Court, copying Strategic, attachment “PLDG SV_10-30-2020 FOF and COL,” at ¶¶ 125-26 (“More recently, he [Guo] has launched a new round of attacks, including against Bob Fu. Fu is the head of a Christian organization called ChinaAid based in Mildand, Texas. ChinaAid supports Christians in China, opposes the CCP, and has now become a target of Guo. Guo supported groups of Chinese-speakers who traveled to Midland to picket Fu’s home in October, 2020...”). Case 1:18-cv-02185-LJL Document 325 Filed 04/01/21 Page 1 of 4 2 negotiations and performance of the contract, Guo represented that he was a longtime opponent of the CCP, desired to undermine, sow disruption, and bring about the regime’s downfall, and would accomplish this through publicizing research about the regime’s corruption. The linchpin to his plan was the work by Strategic.... Strategic will offer the translation of a recording from March 2017 wherein Guo expresses contempt for U.S. dissidents who criticize the CCP, and says, “The operation is on now. I have absolute faith in General Secretary Xi.” Bob Fu’s experience, as shown below, is a concrete example of Guo fulfilling his plan in early 2017 to support the CCP and Chinese leadership. Dr. Fu will not be asked to opine whether Guo is a dissident-hunter, but this Court could reach that conclusion from Dr. Fu’s testimony that he did nothing to provoke Guo’s social media war against Dr. Fu in fall 2020: Dr. Fu “was [in] total shock when [Guo] mobilized his followers to harass and intimidate us just at our door… I have not done anything dealing with him, any public or private dispute or feud with him before he attacked me, so the only thing I could think of is that somebody from Beijing must have sent him an order to take us down.” ...

Finally, Strategic will prove that Guo has attacked true Chinese dissidents like Sasha Gong and now Bob Fu. Attacking Chinese dissidents is consistent with Guo’s 2017 plan to support President Xi and the CCP and the actions of someone who is not himself a Chinese dissident." Full letter on Patreon here.

 On April 5, Judge Liman denied the motion. Fu will not testify: "permitting Fu to testify will be unfairly prejudicial to Eastern. Fu has neither produced documents in this litigation nor been deposed and thus Eastern has no way to fairly and effectively cross-examine him, including on his claim that he is a Chinese dissident. To require Eastern to subpoena him now for documents and to take a pretrial deposition-with trial 19 days away from the date of Strategic's request and with trial having been adjourned ten times since the first amendment of the case management plan in August 2018, see Dkt. Nos. 42, 60, 76, 86, 113, 259, 287, 296, 308, 318, 321-would be unfair both in terms of cost and in delay to Eastern. Strategic's motion to supplement Fu as a witness is therefore DENIED."

 Inner City Press will stay on the case.

From October 5: Now @SDNYLIVE  Judge Liman is denying summary judgment in case of Guo Wengui and Strategic Vision, can't agree if a person wants to overthrow Chinese Communist Party can't be proven or not. Inner City Press, blocked by CCP's Zhang Jun, will live tweet 

The case was filed under seal in SDNY in March 2018. Much later it was unsealed. A jury trial was set for Nov 2, 2020 - but now Strategic is point to Gov. Cuomo's quarantine orders. Main witness French Wallop live in Virginia... 

From one of the motions for summary judgment, Guo 1 Tr., Ex. AA: "Q: What was it about the 15 names that led you to believe that Strategic's research would be useful to you in your goal of eliminating the Chinese Communist Party? Grendi: Object to form   

Judge Liman: I'd like to keep the trial date, & do it as a bench trial. Happy to do it partly in the courtroom.    

Eastern's lawyer Joanna J. Cline of Troutman Pepper: Zoom would be fine. Strategic's lawyer Ed Greim: Our issue is we have to isolate in NY for 14 days   

Strategic's Greim: It would be difficult to cross examine these witnesses including Mr. Guo by Zoom and with an interpreter. Judge Liman: Mr. Greim, your arguments are ones that might make it difficult for me to give Eastern a trial any time soon

  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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