“Not a crime”: Trump defends pardoning Binance founder CZ
President Donald Trump recently weighed in on his decision to pardon Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, stating that he received “a lot of input” and support from people who insisted CZ wasn’t actually guilty of any crime.
The presidential pardon was officially signed on Wednesday, a move that Binance later confirmed to Cointelegraph.
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Trump explained his reasoning, saying he opted to pardon the crypto executive because he “was recommended by a lot of people” and had considerable backing. “People say that he wasn’t guilty of anything,” Trump elaborated. “I don’t know him, I don’t believe I’ve ever met him, but I’ve been told he had a lot of support, and they said that what he did is not even a crime, it wasn’t a crime, he was persecuted by the Biden Administration.”
This pardon shines a spotlight on the previous administration’s actions regarding crypto. Zhao had originally received a four-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to a single charge: violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act for failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance.
CZ’s crypto attorney, Teresa Goody Guillén, spoke out on Thursday, affirming that the pardon was indeed the right call. She emphasized that her client faced “a single charge of failure to have an effective compliance program. NO fraud, NO victims, NO criminal history. NO money laundering.” Guillén further pointed out that CZ is “the first and only known first-time offender in US history to receive a prison sentence for this single, non-fraud-related charge.” She added that “the judge found NO evidence that he knew of any illicit transactions and that it was reasonable for him to believe there were no illicit funds on the platform.”
Following the news, CZ took to X to express his gratitude, stating he was “deeply grateful.” He also signaled his future intentions, vowing to do “everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance Web3 worldwide.”
As part of his initial plea deal, CZ had been forced to step down as CEO of Binance and was barred from working at the exchange. This presidential pardon could potentially pave the way for his return to the company.
