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Julia Smith
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Julia Smith
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The White House has allegedly “ramped up” pardon talks for Binance founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, per an October 12 report from the New York Post.
CZ Pardon Talks Intensify, Report Claims
According to the Sunday report, discussion over Zhao’s possible pardon has recently “heated up” within the Trump administration.
On Friday, Fox Business correspondent Charles Gasparino reported that “people close” to the crypto executive say Trump “is leaning toward a pardon” despite others “worrying” about the optics of a pardon given the president’s business interests in crypto.
“Many Trump insiders believe the fraud case against Changpeng Zhao, known in the digital space simply as CZ, was pretty weak, and certainly not something that merited a felony charge and jail time,” Gasparino said, adding that it “could set the stage for CZ’s return to the crypto exchange.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren Pushes for Answers on Pardon
Zhao pleaded guilty in November 2023 to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program at Binance, which resulted in his resignation as the crypto company’s CEO.
The Binance founder previously considered applying for a pardon in December 2024, following then-U.S. President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter, in two criminal cases.
“No wish to be CEO again,” Zhao said in an X post at the time. “But definitely wouldn’t mind a pardon.”
Binance, Emirati firm MGX, and Trump-linked crypto platform World Liberty Financial (WLF) drew scrutiny following a $2 billion deal involving USD1, WLF’s stablecoin, in May.
Pardon talks are likely to draw ire from key Democratic politicians, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, who wrote to White House Counsel David Warrington and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on the matter in May.
“The convergence of Mr. Zhao’s pardon application and Binance’s financial entanglements with the President’s family presents urgent concerns regarding the integrity of our justice system,” the letter states.
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