United States Representative Maxine Waters has strongly criticized US President Donald Trump for his decision to pardon Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
Trump pardoned Zhao on Thursday, reportedly stating that people had informed him “what he did is not even a crime.” Waters, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Financial Services, responded forcefully later that day. She claimed in a statement that “Trump is doing massive favors for crypto criminals who have helped line his pockets.”
“Trump’s pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao—who pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering and facilitating suspicious transactions with child abusers, drug dealers, and terrorists—is an appalling but unsurprising reflection of his presidency,” Waters stated. Trump, in turn, asserted that his decision to pardon Zhao followed input from “a lot of people” who told him CZ was not guilty.
“It wasn’t a crime; he was persecuted by the Biden Administration,” Trump claimed.
Waters Disagrees with Trump's Rationale
Waters further elaborated that “CZ has spent months lobbying Trump and his family while funneling billions into Trump’s personal crypto company, World Liberty Financial.” She contends that the pardon is a direct result of these efforts and represents “a blatant example of the kind of pay-to-play corruption that Trump and his Administration continue to engage in."
These accusations follow recent reports highlighting a significant increase in Donald Trump's personal wealth, reportedly fueled by a substantial cryptocurrency empire developed by the president and his family. These ventures are said to have generated over $1 billion in pre-tax profit within the last year.
The Trump family has not shied away from acknowledging these profits. Eric Trump, son of Donald Trump, has even suggested that the family's actual earnings are “probably more.”
World Liberty Financial's Financial Success
World Liberty Financial, the company mentioned by Waters, appears to be central to this new financial surge. This decentralized finance (DeFi) company, founded by Trump's sons and their associates, has reportedly sold billions of dollars worth of tokens and stablecoins.
Donald Trump himself disclosed $57.4 million in income from his involvement with World Liberty Financial in June. The following month, his family's stake in the company reportedly increased to $5 billion after a token unlock event. More recent estimates suggest the family's earnings from World Liberty Financial this year have reached $550 million.