President's Statements on Pardon Raise Questions
US President Donald Trump made some controversial comments regarding his own recent decision to pardon Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao. In a recent 60 Minutes interview, he claimed that he didn’t know who CZ was, but he pardoned him because he “heard” his case was a “Biden witch hunt.”
When pressed by host Norah O’Donnell on why he freed a man whom he didn’t know, the POTUS said:
“Well, here’s the thing. I know nothing about it because I’m too busy doing other… 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 are running a business, they are not in government.
Family's Crypto Involvement and Avoided Questions
According to a full CBS transcript of the interview, Trump avoided a question about potential corruption on the matter, given his family’s broader involvement with the cryptocurrency industry, and added, “I’m not concerned. I’d rather not have you ask the question.”
The President’s claims are controversial, to say the least, given the recent history between Binance and the crypto businesses run by his family. Recall that the exchange facilitated a $2 billion purchase of World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin a few months back.
Backlash and Legal Exchange with Senator Warren
Trump’s initial decision to pardon CZ led to an immediate backlash from Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who condemned the move. Binance’s founder fought back, accusing her of misrepresenting the nature of the charges against him.
CZ warned Warren to retract her statements or face legal consequences. On Sunday, the Senator’s lawyers rejected the defamation threat, stating that her post was factually correct.
“Senator Warren’s post is true in all respects and therefore cannot be defamatory. Senator Warren accurately represented publicly available and widely reported facts. The “charge” referenced in Senator Warren’s X post refers to the “charge” to which Mr. Zhao pled guilty and as to which President Trump had just pardoned him,” reads the statement.