A federal appeals court threw away the Department of Justice (DOJ) foreign agent case against Steve Wynn, former CEO of Wynn Resorts and finance chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), on Friday.
The DOJ filed a civil lawsuit against Wynn in May 2022, seeking to compel him to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a transparency statute that requires agents of foreign interests seeking to influence U.S. or the public to disclose certain information.
Wynn pressured then-President Trump and other administration officials in 2017 to extradite Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, a government critic who had sought asylum in the U.S., the DOJ lawsuit alleged.
The Wynn case was the first civil lawsuit brought under FARA in more than three decades, the government said at the time.
But the casino mogul denied acting as a foreign agent for China and a lower court dismissed the case in fall 2022.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the lower court’s ruling.
“Even accepting the government’s allegations as true, Wynn long ago ceased acting as a foreign agent and has no current obligation to register,” the justices wrote.
“Without commenting on details, we are very pleased with the result. It is a well-deserved end to a long ordeal for our client,” said Bob Luskin, a partner at Paul Hastings LLP who led Wynn’s defense team.
Friday’s ruling is a blow to the Justice Department’s intense enforcement efforts to root out undisclosed foreign influence in the U.S. in recent years.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
