US President Donald Trump has addressed the controversial pardon recently granted to Binance’s co-founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, denying any links to the crypto tycoon and allegations of potential corruption.
US President Addresses Binance’s Founder Pardon
In a recent CBS News 60 Minutes interview, President Trump defended his decision to pardon Binance’s co-founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, which faced major backlash from multiple members of the US Congress.
On October 23, the White House revealed Trump had pardoned Zhao, two years after pleading guilty, affirming that the US President “exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency.”
CBS News correspondent Norah O’Donnell asked the US President about the reasons behind his decision to pardon the former CEO of Binance, who pleaded guilty to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations in 2023 while leading the crypto exchange.
Trump explained that he doesn’t know who Zhao personally or who he is, but heard that his case was part of the Biden administration’s “witch hunt” against the crypto industry and was “set up” and a “victim of weaponization” by the previous government, like him and many others.
This man was, in my opinion, from what I was told, this is, you know, a four-month sentence. But this man was treated really badly by the Biden administration. And he was given a jail term. He’s highly respected. He’s a very successful guy. They sent him to jail and they really set him up. That’s my opinion. I was told about it.
Trump ‘Not Concerned’ About Corruption Claims
Further detailing his reasoning, the US President affirmed that he knew “it may look bad,” but he had to “do the right thing” by pardoning Binance’s co-founder, later adding that he was “not concerned” about the appearance of corruption and play-for-play.
Notably, Democratic lawmakers have pressed multiple government officials, including the US Special Envoy for peace missions, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s former acting chairman, and the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), about Trump’s crypto ventures and potential conflicts of interest.
Among the concerns, lawmakers have questioned a $2 billion deal between Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and the Emirati firm MGX, facilitated by Binance, alleging that the President has advertised a “staggering model for corruption” by using USD1 to finance business between “a foreign government-backed entity (MGX) and a foreign corporation that pleaded guilty to criminal violations of U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions laws (Binance).”
When asked about the appearance of a potential play-for-play, Trump affirmed that he knew nothing about the deal because he is “too busy” and his sons oversee the family’s crypto ventures.
I can only tell you this. My sons are into it. I’m glad they are, because it’s probably a great industry, crypto. I think it’s good. You know, they’re running a business, they’re not in government. (…) My sons are involved in crypto much more than I– me. I– I know very little about it, other than one thing. It’s a huge industry. And if we’re not gonna be the head of it, China, Japan, or someplace else is. So I am behind it 100%.
The US President stated that he wants to “make crypto great for America” and doesn’t want another country to be the global leader of the industry, as “it’s a kind of an industry where basically you’re going to have number one and you’re not gonna have a number two.”
“Right now we’re number one by a long shot (…). The same way we’re number one with AI, we’re number one with crypto. And I wanna keep it that way,” he concluded.