It’s Over

The United States Court of Appeas for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a civil suit brought by the U.S. government under the Foreign Agents Registration Act

Federal law requires those lobbying American officials on behalf of foreign principals to register as foreign agents. The Department of Justice believes that Stephen Wynn acted as an unregistered foreign agent for the People’s Republic of China in mid-to-late 2017. The Department filed suit in federal court to force him to register. Because, even accepting the government’s allegations as true, Wynn long ago ceased acting as a foreign agent, he has no present obligation to register. For that reason, the district court properly dismissed the government’s suit for failure to state a claim.

Allegations

The government’s complaint alleges that, in May 2017, the former finance chair of the Republican National Committee, Elliot Broidy, met with the now-former Vice Minister for Public Security in the People’s Republic of China Sun Lijun, foreign national Low Taek Jho, hip-hop artist Prakazrel Michel, and businessperson Nickie Lum Davis. On behalf of the People’s Republic of China, Sun asked the attendees to lobby then-President Trump and his administration to cancel a certain Chinese businessperson’s visa or to otherwise remove that person from the United States.

The next month, Broidy enlisted casino owner and realestate developer Stephen Wynn to help fulfill Sun’s request. Wynn agreed and, in the ensuing months, Wynn contacted then-President Trump and a number of Trump administration officials and advocated for the Chinese businessperson’s removal. Wynn raised the issue with administration officials and the former President both in person and over the telephone. His efforts, however, bore no fruit. In October 2017, Wynn informed Sun that he had pressed the issue to the best of his ability and that he could not help any further. The government does not allege that Wynn engaged in any lobbying on behalf of China after that date.

In May 2018, Wynn got a letter from the Department of Justice advising him to register as a foreign agent. Wynn refused, disputing the government’s conclusion that he was required to register and requesting that the Department reconsider its determination. For four years, Wynn exchanged letters with the government over the dispute. He never registered under FARA.

Too late to litigate

Under binding circuit precedent, any duty Wynn had to register as a foreign agent under Section 612(a) ended when his alleged representation of a foreign principal terminated. Because Section 618(f) allows civil suit to remedy only ongoing or imminent Section 612(a) violations, we affirm the district court’s dismissal.

(Mike Frisch)