U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell on Sunday warned other nations against using “untrustworthy” 5G vendors, a move that comes as the Trump administration continues to emphasize that any allies' use of Chinese company Huawei could threaten their relationship with American intelligence, The Hill reported.
Grenell wrote in a tweet that Trump called him from Air Force One “and instructed me to make clear that any nation who chooses to use an untrustworthy 5G vendor will jeopardize our ability to share intelligence and information at the highest level.”
This concern is shared by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as there is widespread American agreement that Chinese leaders could make use of Huawei’s equipment for cyber spying.
“This is about choosing autocracy over democracy on the information highway,” Pelosi said at the annual Munich Security Conference, CNBC reported. “It is about putting the state police in the pocket of every consumer in these countries, because of the Chinese way."
The Trump administration warning follows the British announcement last month that it would use Huawei in part of its network, which has lawmakers worried that it will endanger the intelligence relationship with Great Britain, according to The Hill.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a new indictment that accuses Huawei of racketeering and conspiracy to steal trade secrets, NPR reported.
Huawei had already been charged with stealing intellectual property, wire fraud and obstruction of justice.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.