The story was filled with international intrigue and punctuated with a flat denial.
Did Las Vegas casino king Steve Wynn play letter courier on behalf of the Chinese government with his friend, President Donald Trump?
The news came from The Wall Street Journal in late October in a bylined story by Kate O’Keeffe, Aruna Viswanatha, Cezary Podkul. They reported the dramatic tale of billionaire Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, who while residing in the United States under a self-imposed exile had taken to tweeting corruption allegations against top Chinese political and business leaders. Chinese officials wanted him deported, but how could they communicate that with the new Trump administration?
For one thing, by having someone they trusted deliver the message to the President himself. And that person, according to the Journal’s sources, was Wynn, who handed off the letter in June. The newspaper called the incident, “worthy of a spy thriller.” Through a spokesperson, however, the casino tycoon has called the story that he delivered the letter to Trump false.
Complicating that denial is the Journal’s sourced reporting that Trump himself has acknowledged the existence of the Wynn letter.
“Where’s the letter that Steve brought?” the newspaper reported Trump saying with aides present. “We need to get this criminal out of the country.”
That makes Wynn appear more than a little like a foreign agent, or at least a guy with a lot of friends in very high places.
It’s no secret Wynn has billions invested in casino holdings in Macau. His latest development is Wynn Palace, a $4.1 billion casino resort that opened last year.
Wynn’s fortunes rise and fall at the whim of top Chinese officials, and he’s acknowledged that maintaining good relationships at the highest levels is important to his business. According to published reports, the Chinese market generates approximately 60 percent of the casino company’s revenue.
Wynn was not only an early supporter of Trump, but he also serves as the Republican National Committee finance chairman. He’s considered one of the President’s trusted friends and confidants.
Although the Journal story didn’t splash much in Las Vegas, it picked up legs elsewhere.
At foreignpolicy.com, the headline read, “The Chinese Have Cracked the Code For Communicating With Trump.” The kicker: “Stephen Wynn, who has financial interests in Cina, seems to be doing Beijing’s bidding.”
Wrote Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, “New revelations about the Chinese government’s attempt to forcibly repatriate a Chinese fugitive show an assertive Beijing benefitting from a U.S. administration at odds with itself. But who is that American casino mogul who has apparently become the Chinese government’s backchannel to the White House? It turns out he’s a businessman beholden to Beijing and willing to press their case in the corridors of power in Washington — and he has just the ticket.”
Even Steve Bannon’s Breitbart News picked up on the story, calling Guo a “self-exiled real estate mogul who has been a thorn in the Chinese government’s side, attacking what he calls the ‘kleptocracy’ running China from his apartment in New York City since he fled China in 2014.”
On social media, Guo calls the Chinese government’s power elite “just a tiny group of Mafia, pure and simple.”
Although Trump thought returning Guo to China was a good idea, reported the Journal, his aides managed to intervene. Guo, a member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, is now seeking asylum in the United States.
Who knows, maybe he’ll take up residency there.
John L. Smith is a longtime Las Vegas journalist and author. Contact him at jlnevadasmith@gmail.com . On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith.
