Trump’s CZ Pardon Was Considered With “Utmost Seriousness”

US President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) followed careful consideration and went through the standard White House processes. 

In a recent briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Zhao’s pardon was considered with “utmost seriousness,” and that it went through a “thorough review process” by both the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the White House Counsel’s office. 

“There’s a whole team of qualified lawyers who look at every single pardon request that ultimately make their way up to the president of the United States,” she said, adding that Trump is “the ultimate final decision maker.” 

Trump Says He Has “No Idea” Who Zhao Is Even After Pardoning Him

Leavitt’s briefing follows an interview Trump had with CBS News’ 60 Minutes on Sunday. During the interview, the President defended his decision to issue the pardon and tried to dismiss criticism that the move was politically motivated. 

Zhao had pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act after he failed to implement controls at Binance that would have prevented illicit activity from taking place on the platform. He was sentenced to four months in prison and had to step down from his position as Binance’s CEO at the time. 

Trump then recently issued Zhao a pardon, a decision that has since attracted criticism from Democratic senators and lawmakers. 

During the interview, Trump went on to say that he has “no idea” who Zhao is. He added that he heard the Binance founder was the victim in a “witch hunt” that was carried out by the former Joe Biden administration. 

Leavitt addressed Trump’s statements during the interview, and said that the President meant to convey that “he does not know him personally” and that he “does not have a personal relationship” with him. 

Leavitt also claimed that Zhao was “over-prosecuted by a weaponized DOJ,” and that the Biden administration sought an excessive penalty as a result. 

“The president is correcting that wrong, and he has officially ended the Biden administration’s war on the cryptocurrency industry, and I think that’s the message he sent with this pardon,” she said.

Reports Suggest Binance And Zhao Helped The Trump Family’s Crypto Venture

Leavitt’s briefing and Trump’s 60 Minutes interview follows multiple reports that Binance and Zhao had helped the Trump family’s crypto venture World Liberty Financial with building its stablecoin and using it in a $2 billion investment deal. 

In a section of the 60 Minutes interview that was cut from broadcast, the show’s host asked Trump whether he was concerned “about the appearance of corruption,” regarding his decision to pardon Zhao. 

“I can’t say, because — I can’t say — I’m not concerned. I don’t — I’d rather not have you ask the question,” Trump replied, according to a transcript of the interview. 

An excerpt of the question that was asked to Trump (Source: CBS News)

Binance CEO Richard Teng has denied the reports that the exchange had assisted the Trump family’s crypto venture, and reportedly said that the exchange “didn’t partake” in the decision to use World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin in the $2 billion investment deal. 

Binance.US also recently listed USD1 and World Liberty Financial’s native WLFI token on its platform. This move drew criticism from Senator Chris Murphy, who suggested that the listings were tied to Zhao’s pardon.

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.

The White House is a full time, 24/7 corruption machine. https://t.co/vfFqJ9Jvhq

— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) October 28, 2025

Binance.US replied to Murphy’s post and said that the platform conducts comprehensive due diligence and a legal review for every asset that is listed on the exchange. 

The company also noted that more than twenty other major crypto platforms have listed World Liberty Financial’s tokens, including Robinhood, Coinbase, and Kraken. 

“It’s unfortunate that even routine business decisions are now unfairly politicized by our elected officials,” the exchange wrote. 

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