Summary
- The White House said the pardon of Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, was approved after a thorough review by the Department of Justice and the White House legal team.
- President Trump said Zhao's pardon was a response to political attacks and said he has no personal relationship with him.
- The White House emphasized that this pardon corrects the Biden administration's 'war' on the cryptocurrency industry.
The White House said the pardon of Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder of Binance, was "a matter that was approved after a thorough review by the Department of Justice and the White House legal team." On the 4th (local time), according to Cointelegraph, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing, "Zhao's pardon was an extremely carefully reviewed matter and went through all the usual legal review procedures," and "the Department of Justice and the White House Counsel's Office closely examined the related request and then provided a final report to the president."
President Trump earlier said in a CBS News '60 Minutes' interview, "I don't know who Zhao is," and claimed, "this pardon was done in response to political attacks." In response, Leavitt said, "The president's remark meant he has no personal acquaintance," and emphasized, "There is absolutely no personal relationship with Zhao."
She continued, "All pardon requests are reviewed by vetted legal teams, and the president is the final decisionmaker," and stressed, "This corrects the Biden administration's 'war' on the cryptocurrency industry."
Son Min
sonmin@bloomingbit.ioHello I’m Son Min, a journalist at BloomingBit
