Overview
- In a CBS 60 Minutes interview aired Sunday, President Trump said of Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, “I don’t know who he is,” days after granting the Binance founder a full pardon documented by the Justice Department as signed by the president.
- Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to Bank Secrecy Act failures, served about four months in prison, paid a $50 million fine, and saw Binance agree to a $4.3 billion settlement with a compliance monitor.
- Lawmakers including Sen. Elizabeth Warren renewed conflict-of-interest concerns citing reporting that Binance helped build World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin and that an Emirati fund used USD1 in a reported $2 billion transaction involving Binance.
- The White House defended the pardon as correcting prosecutorial overreach in what it called a Biden-era “war on cryptocurrency,” while World Liberty Financial and Trump family representatives denied any role in or benefit from the clemency decision.
- The episode also revived Republicans’ attacks on Biden’s use of an autopen as critics questioned Trump’s knowledge of his own clemency, and it remains unclear whether the pardon changes Zhao’s standing with U.S. regulators or his role related to Binance.