DC District Court Holds DOJ Cannot Compel Retroactive FARA Registration

On October 12, 2022, in a much-watched Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) suit, the US District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the Department of Justice's attempt to force casino magnate Stephen Wynn to register retroactively as an agent of the People's Republic of China (PRC). In rejecting DOJ's first affirmative civil FARA suit in over 30 years, the court held that it was bound to dismiss the case under DC Circuit precedent establishing that FARA's registration obligation ends when the agency relationship terminates. In addition to providing important analysis of the limits of FARA's registration regime (and highlighting counterarguments to DC Circuit precedent on the topic), Judge James Boasberg's opinion is an interesting read, and not just because it twice quotes lyrics of The Fugees, the '90s hip-hop group whose member Prakazrel Michel was allegedly involved in a relevant meeting.