What is FARA – U.S. Accuses Wynn of Acting as CCP Agent

On May 17, the U.S. Justice Department sued Steve Wynn, the former CEO of Wynn Resorts, compelling him to register as an agent of the Chinese Communist government under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), and accused him of lobbying then-President Donald Trump at the CCP’s request in 2017.
What is FARA? It dates back to the year 1938 when it was first enacted, after which it was revised in 1966 and 1995.
During World War II, the espionage activities of the German Nazis even extended to the Americas. In particular, a large number of German immigrants lived in Argentina, Brazil, and other countries in South America, forming the base of the Nazi regime in that region. In light of this situation, in order to prevent the infiltration of Nazi forces, the United States legislators introduced the FARA in 1938.
Later on, during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, with the aim to thwart the erosion of Soviet socialism and other countries or interest groups influenced the formulation of US Congress legislation and government policies through the activities of “foreign agents”, the federal government amended the FARA in 1966 to expand the scope of supervision to all individuals or organizations, who are entrusted directly or indirectly by a foreign country to conduct activities in the United States.
It is reported this act stipulates a special registration system and requires the registrant to regularly disclose the contacts with his foreign clients, the financial assistance of the client, as well as the political activities entrusted to carry out in the United States. In addition, these agents have always been severely restricted and regulated by the Federal Government for their activities.
On May 17th, 2022, the U.S. DOJ filed a lawsuit against mogul Steve Wynn for lobbying then-president Trump on Beijing’s interest, alleging he has refused to comply with FARA to register as a foreign agent for the past four years. The indictment charges Wynn acting as an agent for CCP’s Ministry of National Security in 2017, lobbying then-President Trump to repatriate Miles Guo, the founder of the Whistleblower movement.