Overview
- In a Fox News interview, Zhao rejected claims of any business relationship or negotiations with World Liberty Financial and denied ties to Donald Trump Jr. or Eric Trump.
- He said his lawyers filed a clemency petition in April and that he received no updates before learning of the pardon, which he described as unexpected.
- Zhao noted he has never met President Trump and said his only contact with the family was a brief meeting with Eric Trump at a Bitcoin conference in Abu Dhabi.
- The Wall Street Journal, which reported Binance sought a deal with the Trump family venture to leverage clemency, said it stands by its reporting.
- The White House framed the pardon as ending a federal 'war on cryptocurrency,' while Trump told 60 Minutes he does not know Zhao; Zhao’s 2023 conviction included a four‑month sentence, a $50 million fine, and Binance’s $4.3 billion settlement.