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President Donald Trump said he does not know Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance whom he pardoned last month, dismissing concerns that the move was tied to his sons’ growing crypto business.
“I don’t know who he is,” Mr. Trump said in a “60 Minutes” interview with correspondent Norah O’Donnell that aired Sunday night. “I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that. And I heard it was a Biden witch hunt.”
Mr. Trump’s comments come amid scrutiny over the pardon of Zhao — known in the crypto world as “CZ” — who pleaded guilty two years ago to a money-laundering-related charge and served four months in prison before Binance was banned from operating in the U.S.
Federal prosecutors had alleged Zhao’s company failed to prevent terrorist groups, including Hamas, from moving millions of dollars through its platform, calling it a matter of national security.
Questions over family business ties
O’Donnell pressed Mr. Trump on whether the pardon raised questions of self-interest, noting that Binance facilitated a $2 billion purchase earlier this year of a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm founded by Mr. Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., along with other investors. The transaction significantly boosted the company’s value and public profile.
“How do you address the appearance of pay for play?” O’Donnell asked.
“Well, here’s the thing, I know nothing about it because I’m too busy doing the other—” Mr. Trump began, before O’Donnell interrupted: “But he got a pardon.”
“I can only tell you this,” Mr. Trump said. “My sons are into it. I’m glad they are, because it’s probably a great industry, crypto. I think it’s good. You know, they’re running a business, they’re not in government.”
Both World Liberty Financial and the Trump sons have denied having any role in Zhao’s pardon or any communications with the White House about it.
Pardon defended as fight against ‘political prosecution’
When the White House announced the pardon last month, Mr. Trump said Zhao had been the victim of “political persecution” under the Biden administration and was targeted unfairly by regulators.
“A lot of people said that he wasn’t guilty of anything,” Mr. Trump said at the time. “He had a lot of support, and what they said that he did is not even a crime. It wasn’t a crime. That he was persecuted by the Biden administration. And so I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of very good people.”
Mr. Trump’s administration has issued several high-profile pardons since his return to office, many involving figures charged with financial crimes or political corruption.
The Binance pardon, however, has drawn particular attention because of the cryptocurrency industry’s overlap with the Trump family’s growing business empire.
Zhao, 48, has largely stayed out of the public eye since his release, but he said in a statement last month that he was “grateful for the president’s recognition that justice should be fair and not political.”
