0 Warren on Thursday sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon Binance founder Changpeng Zhao , calling it an example of political corruption that Congress must 1 comments followed reports that Zhao, known widely as CZ, had sought closer ties with Trump’s circle in recent 2 to the Wall Street Journal, Zhao and his associates had backed initiatives related to the Trump family’s crypto ventures, which drew scrutiny from US lawmakers. Trump’s Inner Circle Viewed CZ Case as Weak, Warren Fires Back Trump reportedly told advisers he believed prosecutors targeted Zhao 3 insiders claimed that Trump viewed the fraud case against Zhao as weak and undeserving of a felony charge or prison 4 a post on X, Warren wrote: “CZ pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge and was sentenced to 5 then he financed President Trump’s stablecoin and lobbied for a pardon.” “If Congress does not stop this kind of corruption, it owns it,” she 6 pleaded guilty to a criminal money laundering charge and was sentenced to 7 then he financed President Trump’s stablecoin and lobbied for a pardon.
Today, he got 8 Congress does not stop this kind of corruption, it owns 9 — Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) October 23, 2025 Zhao Rejects Claims of Involvement in Trump Family’s USD1 Token Zhao has denied direct involvement in financing Trump’s stablecoin project, USD1, which is issued by World Liberty Financial, a company linked to the former president’s family. However, Bloomberg reported that Binance provided technical code for the token’s underlying smart contract, which governed its creation and 10 token was later used in a $2b transaction when a UAE-based firm purchased a stake in 11 publicly rejected the report, calling it “another hit piece,” and claimed it was “sponsored by a competitor.” He accused the publication of spreading fear and misinformation in the crypto 12 Accused of Misrepresenting CZ’s Case as Debate Over Trump’s Pardon Deepens Warren’s remarks reignited debate over Zhao’s legal 13 argued that Warren misrepresented his conviction, noting that Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering controls rather than committing money laundering himself.
Respectfully, the only corruption here is the corruption of the truth in your 14 did not please guilty to money laundering. Also, he's the only first-time offender in 15 to serve prison time for a single, non-fraud BSA charge This pardon addresses an injustice — Daniel Batten (@DSBatten) October 23, 2025 Zhao’s 2023 plea deal resolved one of the largest enforcement actions in US crypto 16 admitted that Binance did not establish sufficient know-your-customer and compliance procedures, allowing illicit transactions on the 17 part of the settlement, Binance paid a $4.3b fine , and Zhao personally paid $50m before stepping down as 18 served a four-month prison sentence in 19 Thanks Trump, Vows to Help Make America the Capital of Crypto After receiving Trump’s pardon, Zhao said he was “deeply grateful” and pledged that Binance would support US leadership in digital assets.
“Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance web3 worldwide,” he 20 grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and 21 do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance web3 worldwide. (Still in flight, more posts to come.)… — CZ BNB (@cz_binance) October 23, 2025 The decision to pardon Zhao has split political 22 Warren and several Democratic lawmakers condemned the move as a setback for accountability, many crypto advocates see it as a turning point for fairer treatment of the 23 controversy arrives at a pivotal moment for digital asset regulation in the US.
Trump’s administration has backed legislation to clarify oversight of exchanges and stablecoins, while Warren continues to push for tighter restrictions on crypto platforms.
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