美国国家公共电台 NPR--Casino mogul Steve Wynn is fighting a DOJ demand that he register as a foreign agent

Casino mogul Steve Wynn is fighting a DOJ demand that he register as a foreign agent

Transcript¹

The Justice Department has filed the first civil lawsuit² alleging³ violations⁴ of the Foreign Agents Registration⁵ Act since 1991, against Steve Wynn, who is fighting the case.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The Justice Department is trying to crack down on foreign influence operations inside the U.S. Real estate investor⁶ Tom Barrack, a friend of former President Donald Trump⁷, is on trial in Brooklyn, N.Y. He's accused of working secretly for the United Arab Emirates. And in D.C., there's another foreign influence case involving China and a big name in the casino industry. NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson reports.

CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE⁸: Five years ago, hotel mogul Steve Wynn had a message to pass to the White House. Wynn reached out to Trump's secretary, the president's chief of staff and Trump himself, calling from a yacht off the coast of Italy. To hear the Justice Department tell it, Wynn was acting⁹ at the behest of the Chinese government. The Chinese wanted Trump to cancel the visa of a businessman who sought political asylum¹⁰ here at a time when Wynn was trying to protect his casinos in Macao, a part of China. DOJ sued Wynn, demanding he register as a foreign agent. Wynn is fighting the civil case.

ROBERT LUSKIN: And so for him to sign a piece of paper that says I was an agent of the Chinese is something that is - it is wrong, and it is personally abhorrent¹¹ to him to sign such a statement.

JOHNSON: His lawyer, Robert Luskin.

LUSKIN: He wasn't under the control or direction of the Chinese, and he wasn't trying to influence policy. He didn't care one way or the other whether or not what they were requesting came about. From his perspective, he thought that he was conveying useful information to President Trump and the administration about what was important to the Chinese.

JOHNSON: Wynn's lawyers say the case is about a request from the Chinese, who didn't hire or pay him. They say it's not the kind of relationship that would turn him into a foreign agent under the law. This civil lawsuit is being watched closely. It's been 30 years since the Justice Department used a civil lawsuit in a foreign agents registration case. Brandon Van Grack once ran the FARA unit at the Justice Department.

BRANDON VAN GRACK: The judicial¹² branch has not weighed in on this issue, except for one 1986 case, and so it's going to be a big deal.

JOHNSON: David Laufman, who led a task force about the foreign agent law, says the Wynn case is part of a steady drumbeat to intensify¹³ enforcement of the law. The Justice Department has been trying for years to get Wynn to register. They sent letters to his legal team starting in 2018 but didn't sue over the issue until this year. Laufman, a former career prosecutor¹⁴, says he has some questions about the timeline.

DAVID LAUFMAN: It makes me wonder, in light of everything else we've learned about the politicization of the Justice Department under Bill Barr, whether political considerations delayed the National Security Division from acting upon its judgment¹⁵ that Mr. Wynn had an obligation to register under FARA.

JOHNSON: A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment about the pending¹⁶ case. Wynn's lawyer says it's not a political case, just a bad one. Both sides told the judge this week a settlement is unlikely.

Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

3 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

6 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

11 abhorrent   

adj.可恶的，可恨的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• He is so abhorrent,saying such bullshit to confuse people.他这样乱说，妖言惑众，真是太可恶了。
• The idea of killing animals for food is abhorrent to many people.许多人想到杀生取食就感到憎恶。

12 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

13 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

14 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

15 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

16 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。