WASHINGTON—A federal judge dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to force casino mogul Steve Wynn to register as a lobbyist for his 2017 efforts to obtain a diplomatic favor sought by Chinese authorities, saying the government doesn’t have the power to retroactively compel such a disclosure.
Describing his decision as a close call, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote in a Wednesday order that longstanding court precedent bars the Justice Department from requiring foreign agents to retroactively register once they are no longer doing the work in question.
