U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York on Thursday rejected a request from attorneys defending the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to expand the scope of documents that can be reviewed by Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who is legally classified as a fugitive from justice.

Meng, a co-defendant in the Eastern District case, was arrested in Canada in December 2018. Her extradition proceedings are ongoing and are likely to continue for many more months, Brooklyn federal prosecutors estimated Thursday.

Attorneys from Sidley Austin and Jenner & Block are defending Huawei from allegations that it violated U.S. sanctions against Iran and conspired to steal trade secrets, and they asked Donnelly for authorization to discuss discovery material on a limited basis with Meng, who has so far been allowed to review material she had personally sent or received.

Prosecutors opposed the request and argued that Meng could use the materials in her fight against extradition, while Huawei's attorneys argued that their client had an independent right to prepare its own defense.

"Ms. Meng's rights—whatever they are—are not at issue in this Application," they wrote in an April letter to the court. "Huawei is seeking to vindicate its own right to discuss the evidence with an essential witness. Huawei's right to prepare its defense cannot be diminished because a co-defendant is challenging legal positions taken by the United States in another court."

Sidley Austin partner Joan Loughnane argued that Meng would review the documents under carefully controlled conditions that would prevent her from using them in her extradition proceedings.

Even though Meng wouldn't be allowed to keep the documents, assistant U.S. attorney David Kessler said the government still had concerns.

"The concern is even if she doesn't have specific documents, she has information that could be used in the fight against extradition," he said.

Donnelly said her decision on Meng's access could change in the future, but in the interim, she asked the attorneys to try to determine whether they could agree to open additional categories of documents for Meng's review.

"I'm not permitting a wholesale sharing of discovery under these circumstances," she said.

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