White House Defends Pardon of Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao
The White House has come under scrutiny for its decision to pardon Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, with critics arguing that the move was politically motivated. However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has defended the pardon, stating that it was carefully reviewed and went through standard procedures before being forwarded to President Donald Trump for approval.
Leavitt emphasized that the pardon was considered with the “utmost seriousness” and underwent a “thorough review process” by the Justice Department and the White House Counsel’s Office. She also noted that Trump’s comments about Zhao in a recent interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” were intended to convey that he does not have a personal relationship with the Binance founder.
Trump had defended the pardon in the interview, stating that he had “no idea” who Zhao was and dismissing criticism of the pardon as politically motivated. However, reports have surfaced that Binance helped the Trump family’s crypto company, World Liberty Financial, build its stablecoin and use it in a $2 billion investment deal, which Binance CEO Richard Teng has denied.
Trump’s Motivations for the Pardon
Leavitt claimed that Zhao was “overused by an armed Justice Department” and that the Biden administration responded by calling for an excessive sentence. Zhao pleaded guilty in November 2023 to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act.
U.S. prosecutors initially sought a three-year prison sentence, but the sentencing judge rejected this as “too harsh” and instead opted for a four-month sentence, which Zhao began in April 2024. Leavitt argued that Trump’s pardon was a correction of this wrong and marked an end to the Biden administration’s “war on the cryptocurrency industry.”
Criticism and Controversy Surrounding the Pardon
Zhao’s attorney, Teresa Goody Guillén, and other supporters have argued that the sentence was harsh because it was a single charge of failing to implement a compliance program and Zhao was a nonviolent first-time offender. In a portion of Trump’s 60 Minutes interview that was edited out of broadcast, CBS’ Norah O’Donnell asked the president if he was concerned about “the appearance of corruption” surrounding Zhao’s pardon.
Trump responded by stating that he was not worried and that the US is “number one in crypto in the entire world” because he is the president. He also expressed his desire to protect the crypto industry from being taken over by China or other countries.
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