DOJ Urges The D.C. Circuit To Permit Retroactive FARA Registrations

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for a rehearing en banc in the Steve Wynn case, asking the D.C. Circuit to reconsider U.S. v. McGoff's conclusion that the U.S. government cannot compel foreign agents to retroactively register under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) once their work for a foreign principal has ended. This petition comes in response to a June 2024 ruling by the Appeals Court in the Wynn case, where McGoff was deemed binding precedent, thereby significantly hampering DOJ's ability to civilly compel retroactive FARA registrations.

By way of background, in 2022, the DOJ sued casino magnate Steve Wynn in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to register under FARA for his alleged activities on behalf of the People's Republic of China (PRC). According to the original complaint, in 2017 Wynn contacted former President Trump and members of