President Trump has sought to distance himself from Binance founder Changpeng Zhao after facing backlash for pardoning the cryptocurrency billionaire whose company has had business dealings with the Trump family’s digital finance venture.
The president’s comments have revived scrutiny of his family’s financial interest in the crypto industry and Trump’s own repeated claims that former President Biden was not aware of whom he was pardoning at the end of his term.
In an interview with “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, Trump insisted he did not know Zhao personally, in response to questions about his family’s involvement with Binance and whether it amounted to corruption.
“OK, are you ready? I don’t know who he is,” Trump said when asked by correspondent Norah O’Donnell why he pardoned Zhao. “I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that. And I heard it was a Biden witch hunt.”
“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,” Trump added. “They sent him to jail, and they really set him up. That’s my opinion. I was told about it.”
Trump’s comments about Zhao and the rationale for pardoning him raised red flags for Democrats, who were quick to point out that the president has spent months questioning the validity of Biden’s pardons. House Republicans last week called on the Justice Department to investigate Biden’s pardons.
“Who’s running the @WhiteHouse?” former Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates posted on the social platform X in response to Trump’s pardon comments Monday.
Trump has claimed Biden’s use of the autopen to sign off on numerous pardons at the end of his term showed Biden was not really in charge or aware of what he was doing. Trump dug in on those claims during Sunday’s interview, insisting his predecessor “didn’t have a clue.”
“He illegally used, as you know, a machine, the autopen, in order to give pardons to people,” Trump said. “The only pardon he signed it looks like was his son, Hunter. … But everyone else, I think those pardons are all just, were just a waste of time.”
Asked about the juxtaposition Monday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he had not seen the president’s comments.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who has led the probes into Biden, similarly downplayed the significance of Trump’s comments.
“Well, I mean, I would assume he knew. But if he said he didn’t, I have to look and see what he said,” Comer said, according to CBS News.
Biden has asserted he was fully aware and in control of the pardons issued during his administration, and that the autopen was used to handle the volume of orders he signed. Trump appears to have physically signed Zhao’s pardon, based on the document uploaded by the Justice Department.
The louder criticism from Democrats and Trump critics in the wake of the Zhao pardon has been over what they view as brazen corruption.
“President Trump’s pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao is just the latest example of the president’s use of the pardon power as a means of rewarding wealthy donors and allies, and enriching himself,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in a statement following the pardon.
The White House brushed back criticism of Trump’s pardon or allegations that it amounted to corruption Monday.
“President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Leavitt in her statement noted the Biden administration sought a punishment for Zhao that was outside of sentencing guidelines.
The corruption allegations largely center on a $2 billion transaction between the Emirati investment firm MGX and Binance earlier this year, which was conducted using a new stablecoin from the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial.
Trump and his sons launched World Liberty Financial last fall, as the then-presidential candidate embraced the crypto industry in the final months of his 2024 campaign. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. have remained involved in the business since their father took office again.
“My sons are involved in crypto much more than me,” Trump told O’Donnell in Sunday’s interview. “I know very little about it.”
When pressed further about his prior knowledge of Zhao, the president added, “Norah, I can only tell you this: My sons are into it. I’m glad they are, because it’s probably a great industry, crypto.”
Leavitt on Monday rejected claims of conflicts of interest as “irresponsible.”
“Neither the President nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest,” Leavitt said in a statement. “Through executive actions, supporting legislation like the GENIUS Act, and other common-sense policies, the administration is fulfilling the President’s promise to make the United States the crypto capital of the world by driving innovation and economic opportunity for all Americans.”
The Binance investment initially drew scrutiny amid reports Zhao was pushing for a pardon from the newly crypto-friendly White House. Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering regime and was sentenced to four months in prison.
Binance also paid $4.3 billion to settle the case with the Justice Department, which had accused the crypto exchange of failing to implement controls preventing money laundering and sanctions violations.
“American families are struggling to pay for groceries and rent. Federal workers are missing paychecks. Americans across the country are watching as their health insurance premiums skyrocket,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said on the Senate floor last week.
“But what is President Donald Trump focused on? He’s pardoned a convicted crypto billionaire who helped the Trump family get even richer,” she continued.
The decision also drew pushback from some who are typically in Trump’s corner. Venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale suggested the president had been “terribly advised,” while right-wing activist Laura Loomer said it was “another terrible Pardon idea that I’m sure someone is getting paid a lot of money to push.”
Several days after Zhao’s pardon, Binance announced it was listing World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin on the exchange, fueling additional corruption allegations.
“One week after Trump pardoned Binance’s owner (for a stunning array of crimes related to terrorist and sex predator financing), Binance starts promoting Trump crypto,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote on X. “The White House is a full time, 24/7 corruption machine.”
The crypto exchange pushed back on these specific accusations in a response on X, arguing it conducts “comprehensive due diligence and legal review” before listing assets and emphasizing that other major exchanges have listed USD1 and another World Liberty token, WLFI.
“It’s unfortunate that even routine business decisions are now unfairly politicized by our elected officials,” it added.
Binance did not respond to a request for comment.
World Liberty Financial also dismissed the allegations surrounding Zhao’s pardon, calling it “outrageous and completely false” to suggest the company had “anything to do with the White House’s decision.”
“Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume and they list hundreds of cryptocurrencies including the WLFI governance token and USD1, a Genius Act-compliant stablecoin –– as well as many competitor cryptocurrencies,” World Liberty Financial spokesperson David Wachsman said in a statement.
Source: The Hill