[Binance Hires Trump Jr.'s Close Friend to Lobby White House, Pays $450,000 Fee] At the end of September, Binance hired Ches McDowell, a close friend of Donald Trump Jr. and a lobbyist from North Carolina, to lobby the White House and the Treasury Department on financial policies and administrative relief matters. Binance paid $450,000 to his company, Checkmate Government Relations. Checkmate established an office in Washington earlier this year and has generated $7.1 million in revenue over the past three months. Additionally, in February this year, Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao hired cryptocurrency attorney Teresa Goody Guillén, whose law firm has received $290,000 in fees to date.