The Republican National Committee said in 2018 that it was keeping money from Steve Wynn until state gaming regulators finished their investigations into sexual assault and harassment complaints against the casino mogul and former RNC finance chair. Nevada completed its investigation in February, fining Wynn Resorts $20 million for covering up allegations against Wynn. And now Massachusetts has released its report.
Wynn Resorts is allowed to continue operating in Nevada, but the verdict hasn’t come down in Massachusetts. The conclusions of the two states’ investigations are much the same, though: Steve Wynn was the subject of multiple complaints of misconduct including rape, with one settlement totaling $7.5 million, and his company’s executives covered it up for him. According to the Massachusetts report, there was “a culture at the Company where employees hesitated to report allegations of sexual misconduct against Mr. Wynn to management, with employees fearful of employment-related consequences, or believing that reporting to management would be futile.”
That’s relevant not just to the workers Wynn terrorized but for purposes of awarding gaming licenses. The company’s cover-ups “made it exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, for gaming regulators to detect potentially derogatory information through typical regulatory means, which rely heavily on robust and voluntary self-disclosures by the applicant/licensee.” It’s also relevant to a Republican Party that said it was just waiting to hear from regulators before deciding whether to return Wynn’s money, because he deserved “due process,” as if having one’s political contributions rejected is equivalent to a prison sentence.
Republicans were just hoping people would stop paying attention as the investigations dragged on, of course. We know Republicans won’t give the money back unless under massive pressure to do so. So really, it’s up to the media to revive this issue. Think of it this way, major media organizations: How would you cover this story if it was about a finance chair of the Democratic National Committee?