White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said the White House carefully considered the pardon for Binance founder Chao Changpeng and went through standard processes before sending it to President Donald Trump for approval.
President Trump defended the pardon in an interview with CBS News’ 60 Minutes on Sunday, saying he has “no idea” who Zhao is and dismissing criticism of the pardon as politically motivated.
Mr. Levitt said at a briefing Tuesday that Mr. Trump’s comments about Mr. Zhao at the briefing were intended to convey that he “doesn’t know Mr. Zhao personally” and that the president “doesn’t have a personal relationship with this person.”
He added that the pardon was considered “very seriously” and went through a “thorough review process” by the Justice Department and the White House Counsel’s Office.
“An entire team of qualified attorneys reviews every clemency application that ultimately reaches the President of the United States,” she added. “He is the final decision maker.”
This follows multiple reports suggesting that Binance and Chao helped the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, build and use stablecoins in a $2 billion investment deal, a claim denied by Binance CEO Richard Teng.
Trump “corrected” the mistake, Levitt says.
Levitt argued that Zhao was “over-prosecuted by an armed Justice Department,” resulting in the Biden administration seeking excessive punishment.
In November 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act and failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance.
U.S. prosecutors initially sought a three-year prison sentence, but the sentencing judge rejected that as “too harsh” and instead opted for a four-month prison term, with Zhao to begin serving in April 2024.
“The president is righting that wrong and officially ending the Biden administration’s war on the crypto industry, and I think that’s the message the president is sending with this pardon,” Levitt said.
Mr. Zhao’s lawyer, Teresa Goody Guillen, and other supporters argued that the sentence was harsh, given the single charge of failing to have an effective compliance program and that Mr. Zhao was a nonviolent first-time offender.
60 minutes of questions about cryptocurrencies cut from the program
In a portion of Trump’s 60 Minutes interview that was cut from the broadcast, CBS’s Norah O’Donnell asked the president if he was “concerned about the appearance of corruption” regarding Zhao’s pardon.
Related: President Trump pardons CZ: “What he did was not even a crime,” they say
“I can’t tell you, because I’m not worried. I’m not worried. I’d rather you not ask,” Trump replied, according to a transcript of the interview.
He added that as president, the United States is “number one in the world in cryptocurrencies,” adding, “We don’t want China or anyone else to take away our cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency is a huge industry.”
A CBS YouTube video of the interview with Trump has been “condensed for clarity,” it said.
Before being asked about the cuts, President Trump said that although his sons are more involved in cryptocurrencies than he is, he “knows very little about cryptocurrencies other than one thing. Cryptocurrency is a huge industry.”
magazine: Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto Author: Finding Satoshi Will Damage Bitcoin