White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the White House carefully considered and followed standard procedures before submitting the pardon request for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao to President Donald Trump for approval.
Trump defended the pardon during a CBS News "60 Minutes" interview on Sunday, claiming he "didn't know" who Zhao was and dismissed criticisms of the pardon as politically motivated.
Leavitt said during a briefing on Tuesday that Trump's comments about Zhao in the interview were meant to convey "he personally does not know him," and that the president "has no personal relationship with this individual."
She added that the pardon underwent "extremely serious" consideration and went through a "thorough review process" by the Department of Justice and the White House Counsel's Office.
"There is a whole qualified team of lawyers reviewing every pardon request, which is ultimately submitted to the President of the United States," she added. "He is the final decision-maker."
Multiple news reports previously indicated that Binance and Zhao helped the Trump family's cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, build its stablecoin and used that stablecoin in a $2 billion investment deal, but Binance CEO Richard Teng denied this.
Leavitt claimed that Zhao was "over-prosecuted by a weaponized Department of Justice," and that the Biden administration was seeking excessive punishment as a result.
Zhao admitted in November 2023 to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance, violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act.
U.S. prosecutors initially sought a three-year prison sentence, but the sentencing judge rejected that request as "too harsh," opting instead for a four-month prison term, with Zhao beginning his sentence in April 2024.
"The president is correcting this mistake; he is formally ending the Biden administration's war on the cryptocurrency industry, and I think that is the message he is conveying through this pardon," Leavitt said.
Zhao's attorney, Teresa Goody Guillén, and other supporters believe that considering this was just a single charge of failing to establish an effective compliance program and that Zhao is a non-violent first-time offender, the sentence is severe.
In a segment cut from the broadcast of Trump's "60 Minutes" interview, CBS's Norah O'Donnell asked the president if he was concerned about the "appearance of corruption" regarding Zhao's pardon.
According to the interview transcript, Trump responded, "I can't say because—I can't say—I don't worry. I—I would rather you not ask that question."
He then added that the reason the U.S. is "number one in the cryptocurrency space worldwide" is because he is president, and he does not want "China or anyone else to take it away. It's a huge industry."
The Trump interview video posted by CBS on YouTube noted that the video "has been edited for clarity."
Before the cut question, Trump stated that his sons are more involved in cryptocurrency than he is, and he knows "very little about it, except for one thing. It's a huge industry."
Related: How the Trump Family Turned Cryptocurrency into an $800 Million Gold Rush
Original: “White House Claims Pardon for CZ Underwent ‘Extremely Serious’ Consideration”
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