In the United States and a federal judge has reportedly tossed out a civil lawsuit that had sought to force the former boss for prominent casino operator Wynn Resorts Limited, Steve Wynn, to register as a foreign agent.
According to a Wednesday report from the financial news domain at BusinessInsider.com, Judge James Boasberg from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the action brought by the United States Department of Justice on grounds that officials lacked powers that would have compelled the 80-year-old to disclose his alleged stint as a foreign agent of China.
Close connections:
Wynn reportedly helped to establish the Las Vegas-headquartered casino firm that still bears his name some 20 years ago but was forced to stand down as its Chief Executive Officer in February of 2018 following the emergence of multiple sexual harassment claims. However, some twelve years prior to this and the Connecticut-born businessman had purportedly won a Macau casino concession that allowed his company’s Wynn Macau Limited subordinate to open the 1,000-room Wynn Macau venue and even larger Wynn Palace Cotai development.
Arguable actions:
In its lawsuit and the United States Department of Justice reportedly contended that it began advising Wynn from 2018 that he needed to register as a foreign agent because he was believed to be lobbying in China in connection with the administration of former President Donald Trump. The nation’s highest law enforcement body purportedly also alleged that this petitioning had included talks on the potential return of Chinese dissident Guo Wengui, who had fled to the United States and was seeking asylum.
Critical criterion:
In his 20-page ruling and Judge Boasberg, who was appointed to his current post by President Barack Obama in 2011, reportedly disclosed that he was bound by long-standing federal appeals court precedents even though the decision could impair the United States Department of Justice’s ability to police covert foreign influencers. But the 59-year-old purportedly furthermore revealed that his verdict only applies to civil actions and not criminal prosecutions under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of 1938, which carry a maximum prison sentence of up to five years.
Plaintiff’s position:
For its part and the United States Department of Justice reportedly declared that Judge Boasberg’s ruling ‘frustrates FARA’s purpose of getting information to the public’ so that they may better ‘evaluate the extent of foreign influence over United States policy and public opinion’. The government organization purportedly went on to pronounce that it ‘respectfully disagrees’ with the verdict and will now be ‘considering options in the litigation and more generally.’
Defendant’s denial:
Via a prepared statement issued after the Wednesday ruling and Wynn’s defence lawyers Robert Luskin and Reid Weingarten reportedly described the civil lawsuit from the United States Department of Justice as ‘ill-conceived’ because their client had ‘never acted as an agent of the Chinese government.’ The pair’s declaration purportedly moreover claimed that the former casino magnate was not involved in lobbying for Beijing and that the case against him ‘should never have been filed.’