Casino mogul and Republican donor Steve Wynn has asked a federal court to throw out a Justice Department civil suit against him. Wynn was formerly the chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts, one of the leading casino developers in the world.
Wynn has been accused of acting as a foreign agent for China, conveying messages to former President Donald Trump with the intent of manipulating Trump for Chinese interests.
Wynn has refuted this, saying that he worked “in the interests of the US by bringing opportunity to President Trump, not as an agent of the Chinese official or Government.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) believes that Wynn lobbied the Trump administration to protect his business interests in Macau; Wynn Macau and its second tower opened in 2006 and 2010 respectively.
The DOJ launched the suit in May, in a bid to make Wynn register as an official agent of China. In his filing, Wynn outlined three main reasons that the case against him should be dismissed.
He claims his obligation to file under FARA ended as soon as the alleged conduct stopped several years ago, in 2017. Secondly, he claims compelling him to register under FARA would violate his constitutional rights. Finally, he believes the alleged conduct does not meet the standards requiring him to register as a Chinese agent.
The DOJ has accused Wynn of relaying a request from China to remove one of its citizens who had sought political asylum in the US.
Wynn acknowledged this happened but commented: “Merely delivering a message on behalf of a foreign government, without any accompanying efforts to influence on behalf of the foreign government, falls outside the scope of FARA.”
With the motion, Wynn filed a 2018 letter his attorneys sent to the DOJ, explaining why they did not think he was legally required to register as a Chinese agent.
The Government has until August 15 to respond to Wynn's motion.
